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Auction: SW1014 - Bonds & Share Certificates of the World
Lot: 111

Maria Theresa Austrian Empress (1717-1780). Certificate of appointment for Frantz Joseph Toussaint as the Empress' advisor and Minister of Finance. Vienna, 8. June 1741. Franz Joseph Toussaint was for many decades advisor of Maria Theresa's future husband Francis Stephen of Lorraine, later Franz I (1708-1765). A Native of Lorraine himself, Toussaint owed his impressive functions of "Privy Cabinet-Secretarius" and "Privy counsellor for finance" to his extraordinary talents in dealing with money, his good instincts for profitable transactions and his nearly pedantic practices in bookkeeping. Since 1731, Toussaint accompanied Franz Stephan of Lorraine (who became Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1737 and Franz I Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 1745) on all important travels and had contacts with all major banks in Europe. He managed Franz I’s estates in Lorraine and coordinated all the correspondence for Tuscany with the government officials in Florence. He adviced Franz I and managed his investments in property, houses, jewellery, gold and foreign currencies as well as all his credit and exchange business in London, Paris, Venice and Amsterdam. In 1736, eight years after his marriage to Maria Theresa, Franz I had already amassed such a considerable wealth that he was able to lend one million guilders to the monarchy and to become one of its biggest creditors. Toussaint was so successful in generating wealth that he was even accused of alchemy. He not only increased the wealth of his master, he was also able to participate personally and officially in the financial upturn. As this certificate of appointment proves, Maria Theresa also made use of Toussaint’s obvious financial talents. In 1745, Toussaint received the title of Reichs-Baron and two years late became Baron (Freiherr). In the 1750s, Toussaint bought several large estates for himself and founded the first sabres factory in the Habsburg Empire. Franz Joseph Toussaint died on 22. May 1762 in the palace of the Empress in Vienna. From Renate Zedinger: "Franz Stephan of Lorraine (1708-1765): Monarch, manager, patron". The full German transcript of the document is enclosed. VF. Impressive document with the big seal of the empress. It is in excellent condition and bears the clear signature of Empress Maria Theresia. EF.

Estimate
SFr4,000 to SFr6,000