Cross Pendant made from a Maria Theresa Thaler (Dollar Coin)~ we found these pendants in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The pendant measures 2 1/2 inches long by 1 1/2 inches wide. The pendant hangs on a 16 inch black leather cord finished with sterling components. Wear History!

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The Maria Theresa Thaler is probably one of the most famous and well known coins of the world.

Originally struck in Austria from 1740 to 1780, the Thaler was the currency of the Austrian Empire. It was very important for trade with the Levant (parts of Turkey, Lebanon, Syria). Over time, the Maria Theresa Thaler became the best known and most popular silver coin in the Arabian world. After the death of Empress Maria Theresa in 1780, Joseph II permitted the Austrian mint to continue striking the coin with the 1780 dies in order to meet demand from the Middle East. The 1780 taler was the only silver coin that the Arabs trusted and would accept. Since then, the Maria Theresa Thaler has been restruck for trade purposes at Vienna, Austria with the 1780 date frozen in time. The thaler became the unofficial currency in some areas of Africa and Asia, and may still be in use today as a "trade silver dollar" in some Arabian bazaars.

The Maria Theresa Thaler is first recorded as circulated in Ethiopia from the reign of Emperor Iyasu II of Ethiopia (1730-1755). According to traveler James Bruce the coin, not debased as other currencies, dominated the areas he visited in 1768. Joseph Kalmer and Ludwig Hyun in the book Abyssinian estimate that over 20% of 245 million coins minted until 1931 ended up in Abyssinia. In 1868, the British military expedition to Magdala, the capital of Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, under Field Marshal Robert Napier, took Maria Theresa's with them to pay local expenses. In 1890 the Italians introduced the Tallero Eritreo, styled after the Maria Theresa, in their new colony Eritrea, also hoping to impose it on the commerce with Ethiopia. They remained, however, largely unsuccessful. In the early 1900s Menelik II unsuccessfully attempted to mint Menelik thalers locally, with his effigy, but styled following the model of the Maria Theresa, and force their use. The newly established Bank of Abyssinia also issued banknotes denominated in thalers. Starting in 1935 the Italians minted the Maria Theresa at the mint in Rome for use in their conquest of Ethiopia. Then during World War II, the British minted some 18 million Maria Theresa in Bombay to use in their campaign to drive the Italians out of Ethiopia. (from wikipedia)