1/2 Batzen

Solothurn's billon coinage of the late 18th century was produced under chronic pressure from the depreciation of small-denomination currency across the Swiss Confederation, where individual cantons stubbornly maintained independent monetary systems rather than submit to any unified standard. The half Batzen occupied the awkward middle ground of daily commerce — too small to hoard, too necessary to ignore — which is precisely why survivors in any respectable condition are uncommon.

The HMZ 2-849d attribution places this among a sequenced family of Solothurn half Batzen issues distinguishable by die detail and legend punctuation rather than any change in monetary policy.