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500 Schilling Maria Theresia
| Issuer | Austrian Mint (Münze Österreich) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1980 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 24 g |
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| Reverse description | A finely detailed draped bust of Empress Maria Theresia facing right occupies the central field, rendered with elaborate period costume including an ornate lace-trimmed bodice and jewelled necklace, her hair dressed in the elaborate baroque coiffure characteristic of her era. The engraver's name 'BODLAK' is inscribed in small capitals at the lower truncation. The commemorative legend '200. TODESTAG MARIA THERESIAS' curves around the upper periphery, with the date '1980' positioned to the right of the bust in the field. The composition commemorates the 200th anniversary of the death of Empress Maria Theresia (1717–1780), one of the most celebrated rulers of the Habsburg dynasty. |
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| Reverse lettering | 200. TODESTAG MARIA THERESIAS 1980 BODLAK |
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This issue commemorates the bicentennial of Maria Theresia's death in 1780 — a monarch who had ruled without a valid legal basis for the first years of her reign, since Salic law barred women from the Habsburg succession. Her father Charles VI spent decades negotiating the Pragmatic Sanction across European courts to secure her position, yet the moment he died in 1740, Prussia invaded Silesia anyway. Austria never recovered that territory.
The .640 fine silver content places this well below sterling — a deliberate cost-control decision by the Austrian Mint for a commemorative series aimed at broad public distribution rather than collector premiums.