The Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. It served as currency in Germany between the 16th and the 19th centuries. The Thaler was first minted in 1519 from locally mined silver in Joachimsthal in the Kingdom of Bohemia, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire at that time. Today, the town of Joachimsthal lies within the borders of the Czech Republic. The word “Thaler” is an abbreviation of “Joachimsthaler,” the term by which the coin was originally known. In 1902, the German spelling of Thaler was changed to Taler in conformance with a spelling reform. Dollar is an Anglicised form of Thaler.
History of the Thaler (Taler)
The Thaler or Taler could be rather gigantic in weight and size. Some of the coins weighed in excess of a full pound of silver; some reached a diameter of more than 5 inches. Similar coins began to also be minted in neighbouring valleys with silver deposits. Each valley named its coins after the valley (thal) it came from. Many silver coins came into existence with different names. To make it easier, the silver coins began to be known as “Thaler” in the German and “Tolar” in the Czech language.
These early Thaler or Taler served the Holy Roman Empire as a standard by which to value various European region’s currencies. The Thaler (or Reichsthaler) was the currency of Prussia until 1754 when the Conventionsthaler was introduced. From 1857 to 1871, the Vereinsthaler served as standard currency in most German states. In addition, there were many other Thaler variations in use.
From Thaler (Taler) to Deutsche Mark
Following German unification in 1871, http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/Otto-von-Bismarck-visionary-or-villain/ Germany adopted the German gold mark, officially known as the Mark as its currency. In 1914, the link between the Mark and gold was abandoned. In late 1923, during the time of the Weimar Republic of Germany, hyperinflation made the paper Mark virtually worthless, and it was replaced by the interim Rentenmark (1,000,000,000,000 paper Mark for one Rentenmark) and by the Reichsmark in 1924.
Toward the end of World War II, the Allied occupation forces printed occupation marks or military marks to be accepted at par with the Rentenmark and the Reichsmark. Banknotes worth 15 to 18 billion military marks were issued for purchases by the occupying forces in Germany and to pay soldiers’ wages. In June 1948, military marks were demonetised as part of the West and East German currency reforms.
On 21 June 1948, the Deutsche Mark (colloquially called “Westmark”) was introduced in the western zones of occupation in Germany (West Germany. And on 23 June 1948, a different Deutsche Mark (colloquially called “Ostmark”) was introduced in Soviet-occupied Germany. The Westmark replaced the Ostmark when Germany was reunified in 1990.
From Deutsche Mark to Euro
In 1999, the Euro replaced the Deutsche Mark (Westmark), http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/history-of-the-euro/ initially only as an electronic currency. Then, in 2002, Euro notes and coins replaced the Deutsche Mark entirely. Although not every Eurozone member state has its own mint to produce euro coins, Germany mints its own. All euro coins are legal tender throughout the Eurozone, and all designs feature the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint.
But who is the father of the euro sign? Two different camps claim paternity. More at http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/paternity-for-euro-sign-disputed/
1 Euro coin, featuring the 12 stars of the EU, Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2017. www.walled-in-berlin.com
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
