THE JOACHIMSTHALER THALERS AND THE MINTING REGAL
INTRODUCTION
The right to mint coins, known as the minting regal, belonged in the Middle Ages exclusively to the sovereign. It meant the exclusive authority to strike coins and to collect minting profit (seigniorage). Coinage thus represented both political sovereignty and an important source of revenue.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
At the beginning of the 16th century, Europe lacked a stable large-denomination coin. Growing trade and limited gold supplies led to the introduction of large silver coins known as guldiners or guldengroschen, which gradually replaced gold coins in everyday transactions.
THE SCHLIKS AND THE RIGHT TO MINT
In the Kingdom of Bohemia, royal authority weakened in favour of the high nobility. On 9 January 1520, the Schlik family obtained permission from the Estates to mint “larger groschen in the value of Rhenish guilders, their halves and quarters.” King Louis confirmed this right on 17 October 1523 with the charter stating: “bíti na Horách Joachimstáských groše na zrno, kterak na Horách Kutných se tepe s tím rázem a textem a s malou proměnou, co se tkne jejich erbu”.
According to contemporary accounts (Mathesius, Miesel, Agricola), experimental minting may already have taken place in 1519 within the underground premises of Freudenstein Castle, although no direct archival evidence survives.
ORIGINS AND INSPIRATION
The model was the Saxon guldengroschen, also known as the Schreckenberger, minted in Schneeberg and Zwickau between 1492 and 1525. The term “thaler” became firmly established only after systematic minting began in Joachimsthal.
NAME AND TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
The coins bore names such as Joachimsthaler Guldengrosch or simply thaler. The name derived from Joachimsthal. From the German Thaler developed the word dollar.
The coins were of exceptional quality, with a fineness of approximately 0.931 and a weight of about 27.6 grams. The engraving covered the entire surface in high detail. Particularly significant is the appearance of the mint master’s mark on the Joachimsthaler thalers. For the first time on a European scale, we encounter systematic identification of the responsible official directly on the coin – an important step toward transparency and quality control in minting.
One thaler equalled 30 groschen, or one and a half guilders.
SCALE OF PRODUCTION
Between 1520 and 1528, approximately 3.25 million thalers and around 22 million Prague groschen were struck. Minting also took place in Horní Slavkov from 1526 onward.
DESIGN
The obverse depicts Saint Joachim holding the Schlik coat of arms with the inscription Sanktum Joachim. The reverse shows the Bohemian lion with the inscription LUDOVICUS PRIMUS D GRACIA REX BOE.
LEGACY
The term thaler spread across Europe and evolved linguistically into dollar. Many countries adopted both the name and the concept, including the Scandinavian riksdaler and the Dutch leeuwendaalder.
Minting in Joachimsthal continued until 1670, when it ceased due to a shortage of mintable silver. The Maria Theresa thaler of 1780 later became one of the longest-circulating trade coins in history.
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