Editing Thaler (section)

==Holy Roman Empire==
{{Further|Reichsthaler|North German thaler|Conventionsthaler}}

The new large silver coins that became ubiquitous as the 16th century went on were named ''Thaler'' in German, while in England and France, they were named ''crown'' and ''écu'', respectively, both names taken from what had originally been [[gold coin]]s. The thaler size silver coins minted in [[Habsburg Spain]] was the [[eight real coin]], later also known as [[peso]] and in English as the "[[Spanish dollar]]".

The first large silver coin standardized by the [[Holy Roman Empire]] was the ''Guldengroschen'' in 1524. Under the new [[Imperial Minting Standard]] (''[[Reichsmünzfuß]]'') it weighed {{frac|8}}th a [[Cologne Mark]] of silver or 29.232 g, and had a fineness 0.9375. However, its longest-lasting standard coin was the ''[[Reichsthaler]]'' ("imperial thaler") defined in 1566 as containing {{frac|9}}th a Cologne ''Mark'' of fine silver, or 25.984 g. It was widely adopted and produced for the next 300 years at rates varying from 9 to 9{{frac|4}} ''Reichsthalers'' to the ''Mark''.

See the ''[[#Chronology of thaler development|chronology of thaler development]]'' for the development of the Reichsthaler and related currency units from 1566 to 1875. Confusingly, there also was defined a [[North German thaler|North German ''thaler'']] currency (also called ''Reichsthalers'') of less value to the standard ''Reichsthaler'' specie coin; this thaler was worth 12 to a ''Mark'' after 1690, 13{{frac|3}} to a ''Mark'' after 1754, and 14 to a ''Mark'' (the [[Prussian thaler]]) by the 1840s. Furthermore, in 1754 a ''[[Conventionsthaler]]'' was developed by the [[Austrian Empire]] minted at 10 to a ''Mark'' of fine silver. While it was adopted by most German states, Scandinavia and a few North German states retained the original ''[[Reichsthaler]]'' specie of 9{{frac|4}} to a ''Mark'' as their standard coin until 1875.
<gallery>
File:1 thaler Leopold V of Austria - 1621.png|thaler of the [[County of Tyrol]], [[Leopold V, Archduke of Austria|Leopold V]] - 1621.<ref>Year: 1620–1621; Composition: Silver; Weight: 28,4 gram; Diameter: 42 mm - https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces94533.html</ref>
File:Hungary-thaler-leopold-1692.png|''Reichsthaler'' of [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold I]], minted in [[Kremnica|Kremnitz]] in 1692.
File:Wildermann thaler.jpg|17th-century ''thaler'' coin from [[Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]] with the traditional [[woodwose]] design on coins from the mints in the [[Harz]] mountains.
File:Lithuanian Thaler of Žygimantas Augustas with his monogram, Polish Eagle, Lithuanian Vytis (Waykimas) and other coats of arms, 1564.jpg|[[Lithuania]]n ''Thaler'' of [[Sigismund II Augustus]], minted in [[Vilnius Mint]]
</gallery>

===City view thalers and lösers===
[[File:Germany-Hamburg-1679-Half Bankportugalöser-5 ducats.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Half portugalöser (five ducats) minted in Hamburg, 1679]]

The "city view" thalers of the 17th and 18th century have predecessors in stylised representations of cities (as three towers, or a city gate) on the obverse of thaler coins in the late 16th century, such as the [[Lüneburg]] thaler of [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor|Rudolf II]] made in 1584. More elaborate city views become current in the first half of the 17th century (e.g. [[Augsburg]] 1627, [[Nürnberg]] 1631).
The type continues to be popular throughout the 18th century, culminating in detailed city panoramas rendered in [[Perspective (graphical)|one-point perspective]].

In the late 16th and 17th centuries, there was a fashion of oversized thaler coins, the so-called "multiple thalers", often called ''[[:de:Löser (Numismatik)|Löser]]'' in Germany. The first were minted in the [[Duchy of Brunswick-Luneburg]], and indeed the majority were struck there. Some of these coins reached colossal size, as much as sixteen normal thalers, exceeding a full pound (over 450&nbsp;g) of silver and being over {{convert|12|cm|0|abbr=on}} in diameter. The name ''Löser'' most likely was derived from a large gold coin minted in Hamburg called the ''portugalöser'', worth 10 ducats, which were based on Portuguese 10-ducat coins.<ref>[https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/gold-medallic-portugal%C3%B6ser-10-ducats/uQHONtHLqqpnww?hl=en Gold medallic portugalöser (10 ducats)]</ref> Eventually the term was applied to numerous similar coins worth more than a single thaler. These coins are very rare and highly sought after by collectors. As few of them were circulated in any real sense, they are often well-preserved.