regarding an old coin

[ssharma]

Hello, I have a coin about an inch and a half in diameter that was given to me from my grandfather who recently passed away. It is in a plastic holder that says,- creditanstalt-bankverein. The date on the back of the coin says 1780 with the words "burg.co.tyr" the other words on the back says "archid.avst.dux." On the front it says "r.imp.hu.bo.reg" and opposite of those words it says"m.theresia.d-g" Underneath the bust it has 2 letters-s.f. I have no idea what this coin is and would like to know anything about it. Any help out there? Thanks,

srinivas

[tbirde56]

It's what is known as a Maria Theresia Thaler. They were originally struck by Austria and portray the empress who reigned 1740-80. The coin was used as an unofficial trade dollar in Africa and the Near East and nearly a billion were restruck with the same date by many world mints well into the later 20th century.
The Maria Theresia thaler, which in the 19th century was quite simply the thaler of the Levant, vied especially with the Spanish peso as a coin of trade and was in widespread use throughout south-eastern Europe, present-day Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula and large parts of Africa. In Greece, for example, it was taken out of circulation only in 1882.
Instrumental in the spread of the Maria Theresia thaler was the coffee trade. In Ethiopia it was in circulation by the end of the 18th century and was the official currency from the beginning of the 19th century to 1936, when the country was occupied by Italy. The Maria Theresia thaler continued to be struck even later, for example, in Rome, London (until 1961) and even in Bombay. Today the Vienna mint continues to produce small series of the coin.
It contains about 3/4 of an ounce of silver and may be worth about $5-$6 if uncirculated. You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, pricing and more info. Check here for differences in originals and restrikes: www.jdsworld.net/article/m_theresa_thalers.html