1/4 Thaler - Maria Theresia Hall

Maria Theresia's early reign was defined almost entirely by war. The War of Austrian Succession had begun in 1740 the moment her father Charles VI died, with Frederick the Great of Prussia invading Silesia within weeks of her accession. These quarter thalers were struck at the Hall mint in Tyrol during the most precarious years of that conflict, when Bavarian and French forces had actually occupied Prague and a Wittelsbach claimant — Charles Albert — had himself crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Frankfurt, the first non-Habsburg to hold the title in three centuries.

Hall remained under Habsburg control throughout, making its output during this window unusually significant to the treasury.