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1/2 Guldiner
| Issuer | Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, Monetary Union of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1503-1548 |
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| Value | 1/2 Guldiner |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Saint Martin of Tours depicted on horseback moving to the right, his military cloak extended as he shares it with a near-naked beggar walking alongside. The scene is rendered in the expressive late-Gothic style typical of early sixteenth-century Swiss coinage. The circumscription identifying the saint as bishop runs around the outer field in Latin uncial script. |
| Reverse script | Latin (uncial) |
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| Additional information |
The monetary union of the three Forest Cantons — Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden — was a practical arrangement born from the difficulties of conducting trade across cantonal borders with incompatible coinage. This half Guldiner belongs to the period when the Swiss Confederation was simultaneously expanding its territorial reach through mercenary dominance in Italy and navigating the monetary pressures that came with it. The Guldiner itself was a relatively new denomination concept in the early sixteenth century, the large silver taler-weight coin having only emerged in the Tyrol in the 1480s.
The 45-year emission window for this type reflects long die use rather than continuous striking.