(Jeremy Spinrad) writes:

I found the following entry in an old Austrian newspaper. Not that I believe
everything I read, but I wonder if there is a story in it somewhere. Any guesses
as to who/what it might be referring to? I don't know the professions of all the
major chessplayers at the time, which might be useful in ferreting out the truth
behind this. Anyone know how much 3500 Thaler would translate to in, say, pounds?

This is the best site I could find:


http://members.cox.net/hessen/thaler.htm

Apparently the Thaler varied in value from state
to state. Some examples are given:

"Johann Wolfgang von Goethe had 2-300 Thaler as a student in 1765. He was
a Counselor in Weimar, needed 1411 Thaler in 1776. As a Privy Councillor he
needed 2249 Thaler in 1780. Up until 1787 he earned between 1500 and 2000
Thaler annually. As a writer he earned 3000-3200 in the years 1795 to 1832.
As others said here that there were differences of value in different places;
therefore, it is important to know that these students lived in Göttingen,
Halle, Leipzig and Wittenberg.

400 to 500 Thaler would be the monthly income for actors, teachers, bakers
and so on. Less than 100 Thaler was the income of messengers, servants,
journeymen and so on."



William Hyde
EOS Department
Duke University