Issuer: Switzerland Composition: Silver (.900); Title: 5 Francs (Lausanne Shooting Festival); Ruler: Federal State
A shooting thaler is a silver coin in thaler size minted to commemorate a Schützenfest or free shooting in Switzerland.
In a narrow sense, Swiss Schützentaler are the silver coins equal in size and weight to the Swiss 5 francs coin minted on the occasion of one of the Eidgenössische Schützenfeste, or federal shooting festivals. Two such coins were issued by the cantonal mints of Graubünden (1842, denominated at 4 Swiss francs), and Glarus (1847, denominated at 40 Batzen) prior to the establishment of the Federal Mint. Sometimes included as "shooting thaler" is a double thaler (10 francs) coin minted by Geneva and donated as cash prizes to the 1851 festival.
The Federal Mint has issued fifteen such coins with the nominal value of five francs, between 1855 and 1885. These coins were not intended as legal tender, even though they were issued by the federal mint with a nominal face value. Because they were minted to the official specifications of the 5 francs coin, they were nevertheless circulated de facto. After 1885, the federal mint was dissuaded from minting these semi-official coins on the part of the Latin Monetary Union. After the demise of the Monetary Union, the Swiss federal mint issued two further Schützentaler, in 1934 and 1939, for a total of twenty distinct Schützentaler (3 cantonal, 17 federal). Of the 22 cantons of the Swiss Confederation, 18 are represented in these coins, the exceptions being Uri, Appenzell, Aargau and Valais.
Most of the designs in the series depict strongly patriotic themes, frequently depicting the federal personification Helvetia alongside a cantonal or city personification, in some cases alluding to specific historical events. The entire series can be distinguished from the much more varied genre of shooting medals (Schützenmedaillen) by their adherence to the specifications of circulating coinage (with the exception of the three cantonal specimens, the Swiss 5 francs coin). All but the Stans (1861) and St. Gallen (1874) issues are denominated.
The term Schützentaler has been revived for commercially produced commemorative coins of thaler size offered on the collector's market since the 1980s.
Denomination | |
Metal | Silver (.900) |
Size (mm) | Weight (g) | |
Obverse | Female figures shaking hands. Lettering:POUR · ETRE · FORTS · SOYONS · UNIS ·LIBERTÉ ET PATRIE1836-1876DURUSSEL5 F. |
Reverse | City view with bridge. Lettering:TIR FÉDÉRAL DE 1876 A LAUSANNE |
References | HMZ 2 1343k;Richter SS 1560;Dav ECT 387;KrSwiss 324;X S13; |
Rating | Rating Group | Serial Number | MS 61 | NGC | 6915711002 |
Links | Link 3 |