A Silver Trade Coin

by Marcus Milwright | Talking about art

Can we always trust the date we see on a coin? This talk examines one of the most famous coins ever minted, the Maria Theresa Thaler, and asks why it became so popular in countries like the Yemen.

Figure 1. Obverse of a Maria Theresa Thaler, purchased in Aden, Yemen, in the 1960s. Private Collection, Victora.
Figure 2. Obverse and Reverse of a Maria Theresa Thaler minted in London.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa_thaler#/media/File:MTThaler.png
Figure 3. Maria Theresa Thaler carrying counterstrike reading ‘al-Hijaz’
Source: http://www.theresia.name/en/scm_hejaz.html
Figure 4. Maria Theresa Thaler carrying counterstrike reading ‘Najd’
Source: http://www.theresia.name/en/scm_hejaz.html