The Thaler: Forerunner Of The United States Silver Dollar

by Joshua

Dollar Coins, Silver Coins

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thaler-public-domain-photo.png Does the word ‘thaler’ look a bit like ‘dollar’ to you?

If it does, that’s no coincidence.

The thaler actually helped inspire the United States silver dollar. In fact, the word ‘dollar’ actually derives from thaler.

Thalers are large coins that originated in Germany during the 16th century. The thaler was Europe’s first large silver coin.

During the 1700s, the Maria Theresa thaler (which may remind some of the Draped Bust silver dollars the United States Mint made during the 1790s and early 1800s) became a very popular coin that weighed 27 grams — about the same as a U.S. silver dollar!

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