AUSTRIA. Holy Roman Empire. Karl VI, Emperor, 1711-1740. Taler 1718 (Silver, 41 mm, 28.87 g, 12 h), a contemporary imitation of a Breslau (Wrocław) Taler, uncertain mint. CAROL•VI:D:G•R•I• - S•A•GE:HI:H:BO:REX Laureate and cuirassed bust of Karl VI to right. Rev. ARCHID:AUST:DUX• - BUR:&•SILESIÆ:1718 Crowned double eagle with crowned coat of arms on its chest. Cf. Davenport 1094 and Herinek 408 (for prototype). Nicely toned. Flan faults on the obverse, otherwise, very fine.


The exact origin of these contemporary and rather crude imitations of the popular Austrian Talers remains uncertain. They were likely struck in the eastern reaches of the Holy Roman Empire. In addition to regions in present-day Poland, unofficial mints in Transylvania and Moldavia are prime candidates. Even before the Maria Theresia Talers that were so widely imitated, Austrian talers were already circulating in the 18th century in the Levant as well as in North and East Africa (cf. J. Hans: Maria-Theresien-Taler, Leiden 1961. p. 23).

Comparable early, contemporary imitations of the mass-produced Maria Theresia Talers are also known (see Lot 2236). Like the originals, these imitations - provided they were of good silver, as in the case of our specimen - circulated freely in the Levant, in South Arabia and West Africa. They are rare and economically significant witnesses to early global trade, and they are incomparably scarcer than the countless later restrikes from well-known mints.