Editing Maria Theresa thaler (section)

==Minting outside of Austria==
The MTT quickly became a standard trade coin and several nations began striking Maria Theresa thalers. The following [[mint (coin)|mints]] have struck MTTs: [[Birmingham Mint|Birmingham]], [[India Government Mint, Mumbai|Bombay]], [[Brussels]], [[Royal Mint|London]], [[Monnaie de Paris|Paris]], [[Rome]], and [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]], in addition to the [[Habsburg]] mints in [[Günzburg]], [[Hall in Tirol|Hall in Tyrol]], [[Karlsburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern|Karlsburg]], [[Kremnica]], [[Milan]], [[Prague]], and [[Vienna]]. Between 1751 and 2000, some 389 million were minted. These various mints distinguished their issues by slight differences in the design, with some of these evolving over time.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fenn|first=Ian|url=http://www.numismatik-cafe.at/download/file.php?id=7722|title=TWO RARE VARIETIES OF THE 1780 MARIA THERESIA THALER|date=December 2009}}</ref> In 1935 [[Mussolini]] gained a 25-year concession over the production of the MTT. The Italians blocked non-Italian banks and bullion traders from obtaining the coin and so France, Belgium, and the UK started producing the coin to support their economic interests in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and East Coast of Africa. In 1961 the 25-year concession ended and Austria made diplomatic approaches to the relevant governments requesting they cease production of the coin. The UK was the last government to agree formally to the request in February 1962.

The MTT came to be used as currency in large parts of Africa and the Middle East until after [[World War II]]. It was common from North Africa to [[Somalia]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Kenya]], down the coast of [[Tanzania]] to [[Mozambique]], and also in the Arabian Peninsula ([[Oman]], [[Yemen]]). Its popularity in the [[Red Sea]] region was such that merchants would not accept any other type of currency. The Italian government produced a similarly designed coin in the hope of replacing the Maria Theresa thaler, but it never gained acceptance.<ref>Alan McRae, "A Famous Trade Coin," ''Australian Coin Review'' 356 [February 1994] p. 30.</ref>

The Maria Theresa thaler was also formerly the currency of the Hejaz, Yemen, and the Aden Protectorate, as well as [[Muscat and Oman]] on the Arabia peninsula. There it was widely used for traditional jewellery, both as a source of silver, and as a decoration itself.<ref>[https://omanisilver.com/contents/en-us/d351.html Oman silver]</ref> The coin remains popular in [[North Africa]] and the [[Middle East]] to this day in its original form: a silver coin with a portrait of the ruler on the front and the [[Habsburg]] [[two headed eagle|Double Eagle]] on the back.<ref>{{cite news|last=Harrigan|first=P.|title=Tales of a Thaler|url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200301/tales.of.a.thaler.htm|access-date=2 August 2013|newspaper=Saudi Aramco World|date=February 2002|archive-date=21 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121204428/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200301/tales.of.a.thaler.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the [[United Kingdom]], the Maria Theresa thaler bearing the date of 1780 is a "protected coin" for of Part II of the [[Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981]].<ref>The [[Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981]], section 27(1), as read with the Forgery and Counterfeiting (Protected Coins) Order 1981 (S.I. 1981/505), [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1981/1505/article/2/made article 2] and [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1981/1505/schedule/made Schedule]</ref>