The tolar () or Jáchymovský tolar was a

silver coin Silver coins are one of the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used silver coins between 612–330 B ...

minted in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

from 1520 until 1672 in

Jáchymov Jáchymov (; or ''Joachimsthal'') is a spa town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,300 inhabitants. Jáchymov has a long mining tradition, thanks to which it used to be the second most popu ...

(German: ''Joachimsthal''). The obverse of the coin depicts Saint

Joachim Joachim was, according to Sacred tradition, the husband of Saint Anne, the father of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary (mother of Jesus), and the maternal grandfather of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Gospel of James, part of ...

with the coat-of-arms of the noble family Schlik, who founded the mint in the

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

, with the titles of the Schlik brothers in inscription: "STEPHANI:ET:FRATRVM: COMITVM:DE:BASSANO" (without abbreviations). The reverse side depicts the crowned Bohemian lion with the title of the Bohemian King

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

of the

Jagiellonian dynasty The Jagiellonian ( ) or Jagellonian dynasty ( ; ; ), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty (), the House of Jagiellon (), or simply the Jagiellons (; ; ), was the name assumed by a cadet branch of the Lithuanian ducal dynasty of Gediminids upon recep ...

: "LVDOVICVS DEI GRACIA REX BOHEMIAE" (without abbreviations). The modern word

dollar Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

was derived from the

Spanish dollar The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight (, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content fine silver. It w ...

, so-called in the English-speaking world because they were of similar size and weight to the German

Thaler A thaler or taler ( ; , previously spelled ) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...

s. The German Thalers were so named because they were first minted from a silver mine in 1520 in Joachimsthal. It was the main silver currency in Bohemia from 1520 to 1750.

References

External links

Numismatics 16th century in Bohemia 17th century in Bohemia Czech words and phrases Dollar 1520 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire {{Money-unit-stub