TheConventionstaler orKonventionstaler ("Conventionthaler"),[a] was a standardsilver coin in theAustrian Empire and the southern German states of theHoly Roman Empire from the mid-18th to early 19th-centuries. Its most famous example is theMaria Theresa thaler which is still minted today. TheConventionsgulden was equivalent to a1⁄2Conventionsthaler.
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 cheaperthalers defined in gold. The Leipzig standard defined theNorth German thaler currency unit at3⁄4 theReichsthaler specie of 25.984 g, or 19.488 g fine silver. In contrast, in 1741 the goldFriedrich d'orpistole of 6.05 g fine gold was issued for 5thalers. This resulted in a cheaper Thaler Gold worth 1.21 g fine gold or 1.21 × 14.5 = 17.545 g fine silver.
TheConventionsthaler (10-Thaler standard, 23.386 g silver) contained1⁄10 of aCologne Mark and originally corresponded to exactly twoConventionsgulden (20-Gulden standard, 11.693 g silver),[1][2] which meant that it could be one and the same coin as a doublegulden. Consequently, half aConventionsthaler was referred to as agulden. However, this parity did not exist with the inferior south German lower denomination coins where theConventionsthaler was worth twogulden and 12kreuzer. Theguldencoinage standard was therefore adjusted in 1760.
TheConventionsthaler was introduced as the successor to theReichsthaler on 7 November 1750 in the Austrian crown lands. By theKonventionsfuß treaty of 20 September 1753, it was also introduced into theBavarian Imperial Circle.[3] Gradually it spread to southern Germany andSaxony. The last GermanConventionsthaler was minted there in 1838. InAustria they were minted until 1856 before being superseded under the terms of the 1857 Vienna Minting Treaty.
TheConventionsthaler was the standardthaler coin issued by many mints in theHoly Roman Empire to the20-Gulden standard of the Minting Convention of 1753, according to which 10 coins were minted for each5⁄6 of finemark silver (= 1 Colognemark ≈ 233 g of silver).[4] For this reason, the inscription "X EINE FEINE MARK" is written on manyConventionsthalers.[5] Itsfine weight is therefore 23.385 grammes ofsilver according to the Colognemark weight standard.
TheConventionsthaler was worth 32groschen, in contrast to theReichstaler, which was reckoned at 24groschen. It was therefore a4⁄3 (counting)Reichstaler.
TheConventionsthaler succeeded theReichsthaler specie (containing 25.984 g fine silver) as 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 24groschen, theConventionsthaler corresponded to a13+1⁄3-thaler standard in relation to the Colognemark. Meanwhile, the Prussian 'new'Reichstaler, minted in real terms from 1750 onwards, corresponded to a14-thaler standard developed byJohann Philipp Graumann. So it was lighter and therefore worth less. The newReichstaler superseded theConventionsthaler with the Dresden Coinage Treaty of 1838, according to which, in the countries of theGerman Customs Union (German:Deutscher Zollverein), 2thaler minted to the14-thaler standard equalled3+1⁄2gulden to the24+1⁄2-gulden standard.
During the early 19th century, theConventionsthaler of1+1⁄3thaler (17.5392 g fine silver perthaler) was superseded in Northern Germany by thePrussian thaler containing1⁄14 of a Cologne mark or 16.70 g fine silver, while theConventionsthaler of 2.4South German gulden (9.73 g fine silver per gulden) was superseded by the 2.7-guldenKronenthaler containing 9.524 g fine silver per gulden.
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