500th anniversary of the minting of the first thaler coins in Kremnica

500 Sk commemorative silver coin

By the end of the 15th century, the rapid development of trade, the lack of coins of higher value and the shortage of gold at the same time, gave rise to the effort to supplement or replace gold coins by large silver coins. The first of these were the Venetian Lira and Milanese Testone (1472-1474), followed by the Tyrolean Pfundner and Half Guldiner, and finally in 1486, the Guldiner. Guldiners were issued by Lorraine in 1488, and the Swiss cantons of Bern (1491), Sitten (1498) and Basel (1499). In 1499, the Kremnica Mint also made its first attempt to introduce large silver coins. All these coins were small in number and are rare now. They were forerunners of the period of thaler coinage.

The first thaler coins – Guldiners, were struck at Kremnica during the rule of Vladislav II Jagielo in the years 1499-1506, and were initiated by Count of the Chamber Jan I. Thurzo, a prominent mining and metal-working entrepreneur, merchant and financier. The Guldiner is one of the most beautiful coins of the period, and is an example of the rich tradition of mining and the progressive methods of processing precious metals in the area of present day Slovakia, where a large part of Europe’s gold, silver and copper was produced in the Middle Ages.