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Holy Roman Empire, Archbishopric Salzburg, Franz Anton of Harrach, 1/2 Ducat 1709

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Holy Roman Empire, Archbishopric Salzburg, Franz Anton of Harrach, 1/2 Ducat 1709 (obverse) Holy Roman Empire, Archbishopric Salzburg, Franz Anton of Harrach, 1/2 Ducat 1709 (reverse)

In 1709, Archbishop Franz Anton of Harrach (1709-1727) ordered the first screw press for minting talers in Salzburg. The machine was delivered from Nuremberg and cost 370 ducats. Once installed in a specially erected building next to the old workshop, it began operating in 1710. The building bore the humorous inscription, "Please be quiet! Here speaks Queen Money, demanding silence every time she speaks. Everybody must obey without opening his mouth. Archbishop Franz Anton of Harrach decorated her royal residence with artistic works [for coining] in 1710."

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