North German thaler

Originally equal to the Reichsthaler specie or silver coin from 1566 until the Kipper und Wipper crisis of 1618, a thaler currency unit worth less than the Reichsthaler specie was first defined in 1667 and became widely used after adoption of the Leipzig currency standard of 1690.

A currency trial done in 1665 indicated a lower prevailing (and unofficial) rate of 14+1⁄4 gulden or 9+1⁄2 thaler to a Cologne Mark.

[1][5] The Zinnasche currency standard was agreed upon in 1667 by Saxony and Brandenburg at Zinna,[1][4] defining for the first time de jure a North German thaler currency issued at 10+1⁄2 to a Cologne Mark of silver, lower than the standard for the Reichsthaler specie at 9 to a Mark.

While this system was implemented by the more financially able North German states (most notably by Hamburg, Lubeck & Denmark), it would not be widely adopted until introduction of the Leipzig standard of 1690.

In 1741 Frederick the Great of Prussia issued the 6-gram gold Friedrich d'or pistole for a value of five thalers.

[1][7] It made the thaler even cheaper at 1.2 g gold or 17.4 g silver, and several North German states also came up with their own five-thaler pistoles.

The Zollverein customs union of 1834 unleashed a more vigorous adoption of the Prussian thaler of 14 to a Cologne Mark (16.704 g fine silver).

The most notable of these are as follows: Currencies whose standards differed from the North German thaler after 1690 include: