The proverb-writers may want to update the old saying that "familiarity breeds contempt."

If this were always true, how could one explain the success of the world's longest-running coin, the Maria Theresa taler? This coin shouldn't have been issued once Maria Theresa of Austria died, but it was revived because it was so popular for use in trade - brought back by popular demand, in effect. The coin is still in production today, with the same designs and same date, 1780. It's lasted more years than many nations are old.

Because of its widespread acceptance and its collectible value, the Maria Theresa taler has turned the old proverb around.

Maria Theresa

The woman who appears on the most famous taler is distinctive. Maria Theresa of Austria was a member of the Habsburg political dynasty, also spelled Hapsburg, an empire that originated from the Middle Ages' Holy Roman Empire. At its height, the dynasty controlled what is now Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, most of the Czech Republic, most of Romania, some of Poland, Balkan regions, several regions of Italy, Luxembourg, most of Belgium and Spain.

Emperor Charles VI, Maria Theresa's father, formulated a decree, known as the 1713 Pragmatic Sanction, which permitted female accession to the throne and ensured the Habsburg lands weren't divided if there was no male heir. However, the emperor's decree was not as modern as it might seem. He hoped the husband of whichever female Habsburg was in line for the throne would receive the power.

Charles VI made the terms of the sanction public in 1720, according to David Thompson, in The Most Beautiful Coin in the World: The Story of the Maria Theresa Taler. By then, heir Leopold Johann had died as an infant in 1716, so the emperor's oldest daughter, Maria Theresa, born in 1717, became the rightful heir to the throne.

When the emperor died in 1740, several nations refused to honor their earlier guarantee to adhere to the decree, leading to the War of Austrian Succession, as numerous European nations battled for control of parts of the Austrian Empire. At issue was which female Habsburg had the right to succeed. In the meantime, according to www.wikipedia.org, she took control of Austria and faced numerous challenges.

"Maria Theresa's father had assumed that she would yield the true power to her husband," the site reports. "Because of this, her father had not given Maria Theresa any information on the workings of the government, leaving her to learn the job on her own."

She also was saddled with a weak army and a depleted treasury because of two wars near the end of her father's reign.

In 1745, Maximilian III Joseph Karl, elector of Bavaria, backed Austria's claims to the throne in exchange for the return of Bavaria, which the Austrian army had conquered just years before. That made Maria Theresa's husband, Francis I, emperor. Maria Theresa, already Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Bohemia and Hungary, then became empress.

She handled most of the ruling duties until 1765 when her husband died. The couple's oldest son, Joseph II, ruled jointly with Maria Theresa until she died in 1780 at the age of 63, the only female to rule during the 650-year-long Habsburg dynasty.

Upon acceding to the throne, as was traditional for European monarchs, her portrait was placed on Austrian coinage. She debuted in 1740, on coins struck in Hungary and the Duchy of Styria. In 1741, Vienna struck the first silver talers featuring the queen.

Throughout her lifetime, four types of taler obverses were used. The last and most famous design depicts a portrait of the older empress, her head covered by a widow's veil and wearing a brooch set with nine pearls. The obverse reads M. THERESIA D.G. R. IMP. HU. BO. REG., which translates to "Maria Theresa, by the grace of God, Roman empress, of Hungary and Bohemian queen."

Prior to her husband's death, on the obverse the empress was portrayed with a lightly armored bust. After her husband died, she wore heavy armor and a widow's veil. Another design debuted in 1770, without the veil, but the most familiar design was introduced shortly before Maria Theresa's death.

The reverse used throughout the production of the coin features Austria's imperial double eagle and a shield carrying the crests of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Burgundy and Burgau. The reverse reads ARCHID. AUST. DUX. BURG. CO. TYR. 1780, which means "Archduchess of Austria, Duchess of Burgundy, Countess of Tyrol."

One reverse for post-1866 restrikes can be identified because the engraver omitted the central tail feather on the reverse, according to Thompson. The tail feather was replaced in 1953 when an order demanded new dies.

The taler carries a raised inscription on its edge, which reads IUSTITIA ET CLEMENTIA, Latin for "justice and clemency."

Though the silver content changed three times early on, the taler since 1780 weighs 28.07 grams, measures 39.5 millimeters in diameter and is minted from .833 fine silver.

Widely accepted

Most talers were struck at Austria's Mint facility at Gunzburg in Bavaria (today Gunzburg is German).

The taler was the principal coin used in Middle Eastern trade, specifically in the Red Sea region, as it was consistently .833 fine and had a raised edge design which prevented clipping. Production of the Maria Theresa taler should have ceased upon the empress' death in 1780, but Gunzburg Mint officials were shocked in January 1781 when an Arabian bank ordered Maria Theresa talers.

Although Maria Theresa's heir, Joseph II, should have appeared on any talers struck after his succession, the bankers insisted that only Maria Theresa talers would be accepted in the Middle East. Faced with disruption in trading, the Vienna Mint gave permission for Gunzburg to strike Maria Theresa talers, with existing, 1780-dated dies, on Feb. 22, 1781. All of these talers carry the 1780 date.

Gunzburg received another substantial order for Maria Theresa talers in 1783, proving that the 1781 demand was no fluke. Again, the date 1780 was retained.

The Maria Theresa talers were demonetized within the Austrian Empire Oct. 21, 1858, but retained their trade value, and have been minted, with the same date, ever since, possible under an imperial patent dated Sept. 19, 1857.

The thaler was produced for a number of Arab countries until 1924, and some parts of Africa through 1935. It was accepted as legal tender in Sudan, Algeria and Yemen and, for much of the early 1900s, it was the official money of Ethiopia. In 1943, Djibouti was the last country to take it out of circulation.

The Maria Theresa taler played a role during World War II. After Italy invaded Ethiopia (Abyssinia) in 1935, Adolf Hitler allowed Benito Mussolini to strike talers in Italy. About 10,000 were struck annually, mostly in Rome. Mussolini demonetized the taler in 1938 and ceased its production. However, London, Brussels and Paris all struck their own talers. After the Germans attempted to blockade Great Britain in World War II, taler dies were sent to Bombay, India, to supply British holdings in the East. Demand for the talers declined after the war, and in 1961, the Austrian government ruled that no other country could strike the talers.

The coin has been made by several Mints: those already mentioned; Birmingham, England; Utrecht, the Netherlands; and the Habsburg Mints in Hall, Gunzburg, Kremnitz, Karlsburg, Milan and Prague, according to Wikipedia.org. The site also reports that about 389 million Maria Theresa talers were minted between 1751 and 2000, with the Vienna Mint producing more than 49 million since 1946.

The Maria Theresa taler's success prompted several countries, including Britain, Italy, Russia and the United States, to attempt their own trade currency, with varying success. But the Maria Theresa taler has outlasted them all: the Austrian Mint still strikes the coins in Proof and Uncirculated versions for collectors. In recent years an outside firm began offering a colorized version of the taler.

The Maria Theresa taler does not play the role it once did, but it holds a special place in numismatic history as the oldest continuously struck coin in the world.

Images courtesy of Austrian Mint and Euro Collections International.