Due to the lack of gold, the tolar was supposed to replace gold coins. The name Thaler (Czech tolar) comes from the 16th century after the tolar minted in Jáchymov (Joachimsthal), German Joachimsthaler. The tolar quickly spread throughout the German-speaking area and gave its name to the American dollar.
- Material: Aluminum.
- Size: 40 mm.
During the reign of Rudolf II, prominent artists of the emperors Prague court, especially A. Abondio, contributed to the high artistic quality of coins and medals. No important changes in the area of coin quality occurred during Rudolfs reign. Only the small Groschen, the only one bearing a value designation in the Czech language, was added to the existing coins. Support for science and art was the emperors passion. Many artists, alchemists, astronomers and astrologers stayed at Rudolfs court, including the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe and the German Johannes Kepler. Rudolf regarded himself more as a scholar and artist than a ruler. His buyers travelled the whole of Europe, buying all the major works of art of the time. Unfortunately, the theft of Rudolfs collections began immediately after the emperors death; the members of the Habsburg family divided one part among themselves and another part was carried to Sweden as war booty in 1648.