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39-664: The Austrian Empire introduced the Convention currency standard in 1754 to replace the Leipzig standard of 1690, after a drop in the gold–silver price ratio from 15 to 14.5 in the 1730s unleashed a flood of cheaper thalers defined in gold. The Leipzig standard defined the North German thaler currency unit at 3 ⁄ 4 the Reichsthaler specie of 25.984 g, or 19.488 g fine silver. In contrast, in 1741

78-627: A 14-thaler standard developed by Johann Philipp Graumann . So it was lighter and therefore worth less. The new Reichstaler superseded the Conventionsthaler with the Dresden Coinage Treaty of 1838, according to which, in the countries of the German Customs Union ( German : Deutscher Zollverein ), 2 thaler minted to the 14-thaler standard equalled 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 gulden to

117-614: A thaler currency unit worth less than the Reichsthaler specie was first defined in 1667 and became widely used after adoption of the Leipzig currency standard of 1690. After the 1840s, the different North German states made their thalers equal in value to the Prussian thaler ; these thalers were then made par to the Vereinsthaler in 1857. The various North German thalers and vereinsthalers were all replaced in 1873 by

156-468: A Cologne Mark (or 17.539 g fine silver) after 1753. The most notable of these are as follows: Currencies whose standards differed from the North German thaler after 1690 include: South German gulden The South German Gulden was the currency of the states of Southern Germany between 1754 and 1873. These states included Bavaria , Baden , Württemberg , Frankfurt and Hohenzollern . It

195-574: A lower-valued South German Gulden worth 1 ⁄ 24 Cologne Mark of fine silver, or 5 ⁄ 12 Conventionsthaler , or 9.744 g silver per gulden. Currency was issued only up to 3 and 6 kreutzer Landmünze (or local coins, of 1 ⁄ 20 and 1 ⁄ 10 Gulden ), with larger Austrian coins accepted at a 20% higher value in Southern Germany. This Conventionsthaler , containing 23.3856 g fine silver and valued at 2.4 Gulden (or 9.744 g per Gulden ),

234-598: A variable agio (premium) after gold prices rebounded in the second half of the 18th century. The final task of currency unification in Germany was completed by Prussia between 1837 and 1873 after the Napoleonic Wars. The Zollverein customs union of 1834 unleashed a more vigorous adoption of the Prussian thaler of 14 to a Cologne Mark (16.704 g fine silver). In 1837 the Southern German states fixed

273-630: Is written on many Conventionsthalers . Its fine weight is therefore 23.385 grammes of silver according to the Cologne mark weight standard. The Conventionsthaler was worth 32 groschen , in contrast to the Reichstaler , which was reckoned at 24 groschen . It was therefore a 4 ⁄ 3 (counting) Reichstaler . The Conventionsthaler succeeded the Reichsthaler specie (containing 25.984 g fine silver) as

312-536: The 24 + 1 ⁄ 2 -gulden standard. During the early 19th century, the Conventionsthaler of 1 + 1 ⁄ 3 thaler (17.5392 g fine silver per thaler ) was superseded in Northern Germany by the Prussian thaler containing 1 ⁄ 14 of a Cologne mark or 16.70 g fine silver, while the Conventionsthaler of 2.4 South German gulden (9.73 g fine silver per gulden)

351-587: The Austro-Hungarian florin and the South German gulden . The Zinnasche currency standard was agreed upon in 1667 by Saxony and Brandenburg at Zinna, defining for the first time de jure a North German thaler currency issued at 10 + 1 ⁄ 2 to a Cologne Mark of silver, lower than the standard for the Reichsthaler specie at 9 to a Mark. While this system was implemented by

390-481: The Conventionsthaler worth 32 gutegroschen or 1 + 1 ⁄ 3 thalers ; guldens worth 16 gutegroschen or 2 ⁄ 3 thaler , and smaller coins worth 8, 4, 2 and 1 gutegroschen . The pistole of 6 grams fine gold, together with double- and half-pistole coins, became (along with the ducat ) the preferred gold currency in Northern Germany, with each pistole trading at five thalers plus

429-532: The German gold mark at the rate of 3 marks per thaler . Several old books confusingly use the same term Reichsthaler for the specie silver coin as well as the currency unit . This is disambiguated by referring to the full-valued coin as the Reichsthaler specie and the lower-valued currency unit as the Reichsthaler currency (courant, kurant) . In 1566 the Holy Roman Empire first introduced

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468-485: The Reichsthaler specie as a standard silver coin of all German states, minted 9 to a Cologne Mark of fine silver, or 25.984 g. It was divided in 24 gutegroschen , with each gutegroschen divided into 12 pfennig . Its value versus the currency unit, the guilder , rose from 1.2 gulden after 1566 to 1.5 gulden in 1618 just before the Thirty Years' War and Kipper und Wipper financial crisis destroyed

507-405: The Reichsthaler specie . A currency trial done in 1665 indicated a lower prevailing (and unofficial) rate of 14 + 1 ⁄ 4 gulden or 9 + 1 ⁄ 2 thaler to a Cologne Mark. Here is a summary of the evolution of standards of the North German thaler from 1667 to 1873 in grams of silver, together with the Reichsthaler specie (or Conventionsthaler specie after 1753),

546-737: The South German Gulden at 1 + 3 ⁄ 4 gulden to the Prussian thaler, or 24 + 1 ⁄ 2 gulden to a Mark. After the 1840s the different Northern German states fixed their respective thalers at par with the Prussian thaler also at 14 to a Mark. Concurrent with this switchover is a change in coin subdivisions, with the thaler now divided into 30 silber groschen . New silver coins were issued for 10 silbergroschen worth 1 ⁄ 3 thaler, as well as smaller coins for 5, 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 and 1 silbergroschen . In 1857 all German states and Austria agreed to mint

585-659: The Vereinsthaler of 16 + 2 ⁄ 3 grams fine silver, of marginally smaller weight than the Prussian thaler's 16.704 g, but still accepted at par with the Northern German thaler . Austria also lowered its gulden to 2 ⁄ 3 of the Vereinsthaler or 11 + 1 ⁄ 9 g. All North German thalers and Vereinsthalers were retired after 1873 in favor of the German gold mark , with each mark containing 100 ⁄ 279 gram of fine gold, at

624-473: The Vereinsthaler , and all divided into 30 silbergroschen , include the Prussian vereinsthaler , Hanoverian vereinsthaler , Hesse-Kassel vereinsthaler and Mecklenburg vereinsthaler . A number of North German states followed both the Leipzig standard after 1690 and the unofficial gold standard after 1730, but did not follow the Austrian Convention standard of 13 1 ⁄ 3 to

663-599: The Austro-Hungarian florin which was made official after 1753. The Austrian Convention currency standard ( Konventionsfuß ) was first introduced in 1750 to the territories of the Austrian Empire and in 1753 to the rest of Germany without taking measures to secure the cooperation of the other circles of the Holy Roman Empire . It restored the Reichsthaler's silver footing at a rate 10% lower than

702-587: The Goldmark in 1873 as it began to standardise to a single currency within its borders, and chose to decimalise. One Mark, (written as 1 ℳ ), was subdivided into one-hundred Pfennig (written as 100 ₰ ), with the mark having an exchange equal to 35 kreutzer, or 7 ⁄ 12 gulden, as the South German Gulden began to be withdrawn over the next three years. From 1 January 1876 the Gulden and

741-462: The Gulden was then defined as a fraction of the Reichsthaler specie or silver coin. As of 1690 the Gulden used in Southern Germany and the Austrian Empire adhered to the Leipzig standard, with the Gulden worth 1 ⁄ 18 a Cologne Mark of fine silver or 1 ⁄ 2 the Reichsthaler specie coin, or 12.992 g per Gulden . Below is a history (in terms of grams of silver) of

780-636: The Vienna Monetary Treaty introduced a second Vereinsmünze in the form of the Vereinsthaler , with fractionally less silver than the Prussian Thaler, but still valued at 1 + 3 ⁄ 4 Gulden. While the 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 South German gulden coin was redenominated as 2 Vereinsthaler, no changes were made to the other denominations. Following the Unification of Germany in 1871, the newly formed German Empire adopted

819-428: The thaler and gulden currency units in relation to the Reichsthaler specie coin, as follows: At the same time this standard was introduced the gold florin or Rhenish gulden of 2.5036 g was advanced to a value of 2 + 56 ⁄ 60 gulden or 1 + 23 ⁄ 24 thaler – hence, 1.2784 g fine gold per thaler and a gold-silver ratio of 15.2. This would be Germany's new predominant currency system entering

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858-473: The 1857 Vienna Minting Treaty. The Conventionsthaler was the standard thaler coin issued by many mints in the Holy Roman Empire to the 20-Gulden standard of the Minting Convention of 1753, according to which 10 coins were minted for each 5 ⁄ 6 of fine mark silver (= 1 Cologne mark ≈ 233 g of silver). For this reason, the inscription "X EINE FEINE MARK"

897-468: The 18th century. The Leipzig currency system entered another era of crisis and fragmentation in the 18th century due to the War of Spanish Succession of 1700–1714 and the War of Austrian Succession of 1740–1748. In 1726 France devalued the livre tournois from 8.31 g to 4.505 g silver, and the gold-silver ratio went down from 15 to 14.5. For the stronger states in Northern Germany & Austria this meant

936-472: The 6-gram gold Friedrich d'or pistole for a value of five thalers. It made the thaler even cheaper at 1.2 g gold or 17.4 g silver, and several North German states also came up with their own five-thaler pistoles. For the South German states neighboring France, though, the need to lower their currencies even more has become much more acute, resulting in a South German gulden of lower value than

975-738: The Austro-Hungarian gulden after it valued the Carolin d'or of 7.51 g fine gold at 11 Gulden in Southern Germany versus 9 Gulden in Austria. Each South German gulden was therefore worth 7.51 ÷ 11 = 0.6827 g fine gold or 0.6827 × 14.5 = 9.9 g fine silver. The South German states therefore could not comply with the Austrian currency convention of 1754 which set the Austro-Hungarian gulden at 1 ⁄ 2 Conventionsthaler , or 11.6928 g fine silver. They instead adopted

1014-484: The Gulden at 2 ⁄ 49 Cologne mark or 9.545 g of silver. This allowed for an exchange rate of 1 + 3 ⁄ 4 Gulden to 1 Prussian Thaler . In addition to the 3 and 6 kreutzer and smaller pieces, new coins were introduced in denominations of 1 ⁄ 2 , 1 and 2 Gulden, as well as the Vereinsmünze (Union Coin) worth 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 South German gulden or 2 Prussian thalers . In 1857

1053-475: The Leipzig standard, as follows: Several other states did not comply with this footing, however. The Southern German states settled on a lower-valued South German gulden worth 24 to a Cologne Mark fine silver or 9.744 g. The Prussian Thaler was also set lower at 14 to a Cologne Mark or 16.704 g. Most of the North German thalers were divided into 24 gute groschen , with each gutegroschen equal to 12 pfennig . Silver coins minted for circulation include

1092-474: The gold Friedrich d'or pistole of 6.05 g fine gold was issued for 5 thalers . This resulted in a cheaper Thaler Gold worth 1.21 g fine gold or 1.21 × 14.5 = 17.545 g fine silver. The Conventionsthaler ( 10-Thaler standard, 23.386 g silver) contained 1 ⁄ 10 of a Cologne Mark and originally corresponded to exactly two Conventionsgulden ( 20-Gulden standard, 11.693 g silver), which meant that it could be one and

1131-434: The more financially able North German states (most notably by Hamburg, Lubeck & Denmark), it would not be widely adopted until introduction of the Leipzig standard of 1690. The Leipzig standard was first introduced in 1690 by Saxony, Brandenburg, Brunswick and Lüneburg; in a few years this standard prevailed all over the Holy Roman Empire in the form of the North German thaler and the South German gulden . It defined

1170-466: The opportunity to reissue their thaler and gulden currencies from silver to cheaper gold – hence an unofficial gold standard. By the 1730s the gold florin of 2.5036 g was valued at 3 Austrian florins or 2 North German thaler; hence each thaler was worth 1.2518 g fine gold or 18.15 g fine silver at France's gold ratio of 14.5 (vs 19.488 g silver originally). In 1741 Frederick the Great of Prussia issued

1209-534: The rate of 1 thaler = 3 marks, or a gold ratio of 15.5. While new silver coins issued under the mark were limited legal tender for payments under 20 marks, the Vereinsthaler retained full, unlimited legal tender status until it was demonetized in 1908. Thaler currencies identical to the North German thaler include the Hesse-Kassel thaler , Saxon thaler and Stolberg thaler , though not all may be divided into 24 gutegroschen . Currencies identical to

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1248-403: The same coin as a double gulden . Consequently, half a Conventionsthaler was referred to as a gulden . However, this parity did not exist with the inferior south German lower denomination coins where the Conventionsthaler was worth two gulden and 12 kreuzer . The gulden coinage standard was therefore adjusted in 1760. The Conventionsthaler was introduced as

1287-517: The standard coin in most of the Holy Roman Empire, with a variety of subdivisions being used: Thus, converted to the theoretical (counting) Reichstaler of the old German Empire, which was worth 24 groschen , the Conventionsthaler corresponded to a 13 + 1 ⁄ 3 -thaler standard in relation to the Cologne mark . Meanwhile, the Prussian 'new' Reichstaler , minted in real terms from 1750 onwards, corresponded to

1326-485: The standards of the South German Gulden from 1690 until the gold standard was introduced in 1873. A comparison with the higher-valued Austro-Hungarian gulden is also included. The course of value of the Gulden before 1618 is found under Reichsthaler . The Gulden departed from this standard in the 1730s when the gold-silver price ratio dropped from 15 to 14.5, prompting many states to reissue their Gulden in cheaper gold. The South German Gulden then departed from

1365-544: The successor to the Reichsthaler on 7 November 1750 in the Austrian crown lands. By the Konventionsfuß treaty of 20 September 1753, it was also introduced into the Bavarian Imperial Circle . Gradually it spread to southern Germany and Saxony . The last German Conventionsthaler was minted there in 1838. In Austria they were minted until 1856 before being superseded under the terms of

1404-406: The value of the gulden as well as Germany's financial system. After 1630 the different North German states reconstructed their currency systems with a Thaler worth 24 gute groschen or 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 gulden , but little is on record with regard to the mint systems until after 1667. They were thus on a de facto thaler currency system with some uncertainty in the thaler's value versus

1443-598: Was divided into 60 kreuzer , with each kreuzer worth 4 pfennig or 8 heller . This specific Gulden was based on the Gulden or florin used in the Holy Roman Empire during the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern period . The Gulden first emerged as a common currency of the Holy Roman Empire after the 1524 Reichsmünzordnung in the form of the Guldengroschen . In the succeeding centuries

1482-492: Was superseded between 1807 and 1837 by the minting of Kronenthaler coins containing 25.71 g fine silver but valued at 2.7 gulden (or only 9.524 g per Gulden ), in a competitive currency depreciation between the various South German states. The French écu of 26.67 g fine silver was also accepted at 2.8 gulden. The situation above was only resolved by the Munich Coin Treaty of 1837 which redefined

1521-556: Was superseded by the 2.7- gulden Kronenthaler containing 9.524 g fine silver per gulden. North German thaler The North German thaler was a currency used by several states of Northern Germany from 1690 to 1873, first under the Holy Roman Empire , then by the German Confederation . Originally equal to the Reichsthaler specie or silver coin from 1566 until the Kipper und Wipper crisis of 1618,

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