The chief Acts which have accomplished the reform are of dates 5th December 1871 and 9th July 1873, the first declaring the monetary system and the latter the law of tender.
The unit of the system is the mark, which is the 1/1255.5 part of a pound of gold of 500 grammes at 9/10 fine, and is coined into pieces of 20 and 10 marks. The gold crown is a 10-mark piece, is 9/10 fine, and struck at a tale of 139-1/2 pieces to the German pound; charge for coinage, 3 marks per pound of fine gold.
The pound of fine silver is struck into 100 marks, 9/10 fine. The total amount of silver coin not to exceed 10 marks per head of population. No individual need accept more than 20 marks of imperial silver coin in payments. They are accepted in any amount by the Empire and by the Federal States.
All other German coins are no longer legal tender, and have been withdrawn, with the single exception of the thaler pieces. Whatever pieces of this kind still exist are legal tender to any amount, like the imperial gold coins, each being equal to 3 marks. An Act of 20th April 1870 provides that _Vereinsthalers_ coined in Austria before 1867 should also be full legal tender. An Act of 6th January 1876 has authorised the Bundesrath to put the thaler pieces and the Austrian _Vereinsthalers_ on the same footing as imperial silver coins, i.e. to make them legal tender only up to 20 marks, the thaler being still reckoned at 3 marks. Since the suspension of silver sales and of the withdrawal of the silver thalers (May 1879) there is no likelihood that the Bundesrath will make use of this authority conferred upon it.
In briefest résumé, the course of the silver coinage during the preceding century may be presented thus:--
Thalers. Total minted during 1750-1816 64,380,936 Withdrawn by the Government of the States 27,788,956 " under the new Imperial System, 1871-3 5,652,999 " " 1874 6,319,170 " " 1875 2,900,202 " " 1876 2,582,123 " " 1877 1,465,424 " " 1878 864,253 ---------- 47,573,127 ----------- Leaving a balance not accounted for of 16,807,809 ===========
Thalers. Total minted during 1817-22 24,261,735 Withdrawn under the new Imperial System, 1871-3 3,623,511 " " 1874 5,147,970 " " 1875 2,580,580 " " 1876 2,373,496 " " 1877 1,421,719 " " 1878 766,908 ---------- 15,914,184 ----------- Leaving a balance not accounted for of 8,347,551 ===========