The spoilage of coins has been cultivated for centuries, but it may seem that in the 20th century there was no place for it anymore - after all, bullion money was replaced by paper banknotes. Nothing could be more wrong! It turns out that due to spoiling the coin, the Italians conquered Abyssinia in the mid-1930s.
As it is commonly known, Benito Mussolini - striving to expand the Italian colonial possessions in Africa - decided to realize the Italian dream dating back to the 19th century:to conquer Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
However, before the Duce started the military invasion of one of only two independent states of the Black Continent, he tried to weaken his opponent as much as possible, hitting his economy. The goal was simple - to inflate as much as possible. How did he do it? The answer is as simple as it is surprising.
They owed everything thalers from over a hundred years ago ...
Behind everything were the silver thalers of Empress Maria Theresa. Yes, the same Maria Teresa who contributed to the fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century. This coin was minted regardless of the changes that took place in the currency system of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1780 over the next several dozen years.
And who would have expected Benito Mussolini to come up with such a cunning plan to conquer Abyssinia?
Thanks to its high quality, it gained great popularity in the Middle East and East Africa, where it was used even in the middle of the 20th century. In Abyssinia, it was even the basic means of payment. It was this fact that the Duce decided to use to prepare for the attack.
However, in order for the plan to succeed, Mussolini had to obtain original stamps, which were at that time in one of the Viennese museums. For the average person this would of course be an insurmountable problem, but the Italian dictator didn't even have to make an effort.
Mussolini never commissioned the stamps to be counterfeited, much less their theft. In the world he simply asked to borrow the exhibits . The authorities of the Alpine country eagerly agreed to this request. After all, it was Duce who was the guarantor of Austria's independence against Hitler's attempts to join his homeland to the Third Reich.
After the stamps were already in Italy, the mass minting of the "broken" thalers began. The method was no different from that which the rulers had used for hundreds of years to save their treasure. The coin looked the same as the original, but contained a lot less silver and therefore did not match the real value.
When a large number of 'Made in Italy' thalers suddenly entered circulation, it inevitably triggered an avalanche in inflation in Abyssinia. As a result, the real cash reserves of the Emperor Hayla Sellassie depreciated overnight. This, in turn, made the task of the Italian army much easier…