SILVER TRADE COIN MARIA THERESA LEVANT THALER

Austria
Ag 833/1000. 28.44 g, Ø 39.5 mm. First struck as a trade coin in 1783 in Günzburg for trade with the eastern Mediterranean in areas of Turkish rule (the so-called Levant) and Arab countries. It gained popularity for its purchasing power, stable silver content and the very depiction of a woman (the depiction of people is forbidden on Islamic coinage). Struck over the centuries e.g. in Prague, Kremnica, London, Paris or Vienna, where striking continues to the present day. Bears the portrait of Maria Theresa with the date 1780 and the mark S F (mint master T. Schöbl and assayer J. Faby).
Soldered loop