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By Viju James

MARIA Theresa, the lady in question was the Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia and wife and Empress of the Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I. She was born in 1717, the eldest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI.A year before she was born, her brother, the only son of Charles VI had died. There were no other male heirs to succeed Charles VI and ensure continuity of the Austrian domains. To take care of this situation, Charles VI promulgated a royal act called the Pragmatic Sanction.

This stated that female issue would be entitled to succeed to the domains of the Hapsburgs. The other rulers of Europe were far from happy to accept this arrangement. On the death of her father, this royal act enabled Maria Theresa to ascend the Austrian throne in 1740. She married Francis Stephen of Lorraine, had sixteen children and ruled Austria till her death in 1780.

An overview of the reign of this Empress helps understand why a coin issued in her name became legal tender in so many parts of the world. Maria Theresa started her reign with empty coffers.

In the early 18th century, Austria was so short of cash that the state used to approach rich bankers like Samuel Oppenheimer and Samson Wertheimer for funds. Banks that started in the early part of the 18th century collapsed one after another. Then the Empress was faced with the wars of the Austrian Succession. Historians say that the naïve courage with which Maria Theresa assumed her heritage and made her husband co-regent astounded Europe's chancellories.

Maria Theresa chose humanitarianism as her principle for governance. She lacked book knowledge but had a premium on common sense. She believed that the peasantry must be able to sustain itself as well as pay taxes. She initiated drastic reform in the education system and launched compulsory primary education. She linked the medical school of the University of Vienna with the public health service. Her husband died in 1765 but she emerged from grief determined to undertake tasks that were yet to be done.

The period of the reign of Maria Theresa coincides with the decades when Oman was consolidating its position as the leading maritime power in the region. In 1744, Imam Ahmed bin Said al Busaidi had thrown the Persians out of Muscat. Imam Sultan bin Ahmed established a naval fleet of several large ships and ensured that economic activity flourished.

The Maria Theresa thalers were first minted in 1751 in response to a demand for a coin for trading says Ruth Hawley writing in her book Omani Silver. The majority of the coins now with dealers and collectors were minted in different years and in different mints but most of them carry the 1780 date. Those minted in other years like 1751 and 1818 have decidedly more value than the bulk of the coins bearing the year mark 1780.

Just before Maria Theresa came to the throne, Austria had started the Ostend Co to trade with India. The Company was initially successful but was dissolved and the charter suspended. The First and Second Oriental Trading Companies that were started also fell by the wayside. Austria did not have a presence in the Middle East in the way the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the English had in the 17th and 18th centuries.

During her reign the indomitable Empress of Austria set aside the English for her own political objectives. The English were till then an old ally of the Hapsburg monarchs and bankers to the country. If this relationship had stayed alive and thrived, the Maria Theresa thaler would possibly never have been minted.

The Austrians were not direct trading partners with Oman but the Austrian presence in Oman was epitomised by the Maria Theresa thaler. The thaler made its debut at a time in the late 18th century when Oman was desperately in need of an acceptable and reliable currency. Omani merchants had had their share of unsavoury experiences in trade both on their journeys to the east and west. They were tired of bartering dates for rice and lemons for cloves and cinnamons. They were decidedly looking for a currency that would be acceptable wherever they went and which would hold them in good stead through good times and bad.

The Maria Theresa thaler is also referred to as the "Qrosh France" explains a young trader in Muttrah souk. The French Connection with the Maria Theresa thalers is easy to understand. Marie Antoinette, the consort of the French monarch was the daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa. The French were also responsible for bringing these coins into Oman for their trade in the region.

The journey of the Maria Theresa thaler to Oman started with Austria's forays into Turkey and its trade with Lebanon and Syria. The Maria Theresa thaler was legal tender in parts of Africa. All these were destinations on the sailing calendar of the Omani trader. On their travels during 18th century, the Omani merchants had heard of the Austrian thaler and of the Queen who had taken on the whole of Europe. Oman's trade had suffered at the hands of each of the European powers present at that time in the Indian Ocean. An Austrian woman who had overcome these very powers was not to be ignored.

Omani merchants were also aware that certain currencies acquired special international acceptance. In ancient times coins of Athens, Corinth and Macedon were popular. In the medieval era gold dinars of the early caliphs and gold ducats of Florence and Venice were equally famous. In modern times the silver dollars of Mexico and the Maria Theresa thaler came to be trusted. The Mexican dollar was out of reach and Omani merchants choose to accept the Maria Theresa thaler. A note in the Ruwi museum informs that the coin was once currency in Oman.

They liked the touch and texture of the coin; it felt good in palm of the hand. They also liked the image of the plucky empress. The Omani merchant's greatest delight in the coin was the consistent silver content. The coin had a total weight of about 28 grams of which 23 grams was pure silver. It was easy for an Omani merchant to set a value for any consignment of goods based on the Maria Theresa thaler.

THE word "thaler" is traced through the Dutch word "daler" to the 16th century German coin "the thaler". Thalers were first struck in the "thal" (valley) of St Joachimsthal in Bohemia in the 16th century where a silver mine had started operations. In Austria there was ducal silver coinage till the 14th century; a gold florin was introduced in the 14th century followed by the gros. Thereafter the Austrian currency was similar to the German one with the thalers
taking centre stage.

The obverse of the Maria Theresa thaler has a portrait of the matronly Empress Maria Theresa just as she appears in an oil painting by Martin Van Meytens now at the Schonbrunn Palace outside Vienna. A widow's veil and a brooch with nine pearls are her only accessories. The abbreviated inscription on the coin when expanded reads: Maria Theresa, by the grace of God Roman Empress of Hungary and Bohemia and Queen. Two initials "S F" which appear below the bust stand for the names of the two Gunzburg mint officials Tobias Schobl (S) and Joseph Faby (F) at the time of the issue.

On the reverse of the coin is the double-headed eagle with the coat of arms of Austria. This is
surrounded by four quarters representing Hungary, Bohemia, Burgundy and Gunzburg. The abbreviated inscription "Archid. Aust.Dux. Burg Co.Tyr.1780" expands as Archduchess of Austria, Duchess of Burgundy, Countess of Tyrol, 1780. The raised edge of the coin has the Queen's motto "Justitia et Clementia" (Justice and Clemency)

What better gift for those waiting at home than a chest full of Maria Theresa thalers? It was not long before the coin was introduced into jewellery pieces like the lekdan, the hanhun and the mazrad. The thaler coins were decorated with silver holders. They were then strung together interspersed with spiked silver beads, corals and other embellishments. In several items of jewellery the coins and pendants lie upside down when worn. This clearly demonstrated that the most important aspect of the adornment was the silver content of the coin.

The silver thaler was also melted to make other items of jewellery like the necklace doq, the headdress mshal and the head ornament shamrukh. Craftsmen used the Maria Theresa thalers to develop and perfect intricate pieces of silver jewellery. Silver objects for daily use like incense burners; incense holders and the khanjar were also fashioned from the silver thalers. Men used their womenfolk to showcase the family fortunes. Women enjoyed the display of silver.

The Maria Theresa thaler had a shelf life that stretched far beyond the life of the empress. After her death, her son Joseph II permitted mint of the coins at Gunzburg (now in Bavaria) just to keep up with the demand from the Middle East. The Maria Theresa thaler was again minted in various periods of the 19th and 20th century from mints in Prague, Milan, Venice, London, Mumbai, Paris and Rome.

During the Second World War, Hitler and Mussolini laid claim to the dies for the Maria Theresa thalers and the Austrian authorities had no option but to hand it over. Italy claimed monopoly for manufacture mainly to finance their war efforts in Abyssinia. The British took the dies to India and issued the thalers from the Mumbai mint. In the country of its origin, the thaler ceased to be legal tender in 1858 but continued to be minted till the middle of the 20th century.

International numismatics have their own theories about the number of Maria Theresa thalers that were minted. Some estimates put the figure at 800 million and others are less modest. Twenty-four million Maria Theresa thalers were struck from the British mint in 1940-1941 alone! The Maria Theresa thaler was difficult to counterfeit. However, despite the easy availability of the coin there have been several attempts to produce fakes with coarse dies and less silver content to meet the popular demand for souvenirs.

Original thalers are still available in the souvenir shops in the capital area. Some of the coins have been made into pendants, pill boxes and key chains. It is important to examine each thaler before striking a deal. A few checks will ensure a beautiful keepsake. Is the pearl broach visible clearly on the obverse? Are the words "Clementia and Justitia" still legible on the edge? Is the Empress's veil still in place or has it been smudged with use? Are the letters all in place on both sides of the coin or have some been lost over the decades?

On the reverse of the coin are the coat of arms visible? Are the double-headed eagles still around and so also the four principalities of Austria? Thalers that have been made into pendants and pill boxes have a different value from the coin.

Prices of the Maria Theresa thaler in the Oman market have kept pace with the fortunes of the metal and the demand for the coin. Recorded rates mention a value of half a rial in the year 1971.

Good quality thalers are now available for between RO 2 and RO 3 with discounts for bulk buys. The value of the coin depends on its general condition and whether it was in circulation or not. Traders in the souks have many a story to narrate about the coin, the number they have in their coffers and how they came by it. It's a beautiful coin to own and cherish and the Guide Books are right on cue.

Oman Observer, 15th/16th September 2002