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Show COIN TOOK FANCY OF ARABS Austrian Maria Theresa Dollar Has Long Been the Principal Money of That Region. The only coin in general circulation in Abyssinia is the Austrian Maria Theresa dollar, of silver. It is also the principal money in Arabia, and the story of its introduction In those regions and all the neighborhood of the Red sea is quite interesting. More than a century ago trading Arabs got hold of some of these dollars dol-lars and found the effigy of the queen (which they bore on one side, the re-verso re-verso showing the Austrian double eagle) so attractive that they sought to obtain more of them, for sale as jewelry. Later on they became highly popular as a medium of exchange In mercantile transactions In Arabia; and when at Intervals the Turkish government prohibited their importation importa-tion a large and profitable business was done In smuggling them through Aden and other seaports. They are all dated 17S0, being even now minted from replicas of the original orig-inal die, which is of rather crude workmanship. Any change would not be understood by the Arabs and Abyssinians and would render them less acceptable. Bankers and merchants In the Red sea region Import the Maria Theresa dollars in bulk from Trieste, selling them at a good profit or exchanging them for native merchandise. They are somewhat larger than "our silver dollars, but weigh less than an ounce and are only a little over four-fifths silver. |