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1/2 Thaler
| Issuer | City of Schwyz |
|---|---|
| Year | 1656 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 13.54 g |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Saint Martin of Tours, nimbate and mounted on horseback advancing to the right, depicted in the act of dividing his military cloak with a sword. A seated beggar, facing right and receiving the cloak, is shown in the lower field beneath the horse. The scene is rendered in a Baroque style typical of seventeenth-century Swiss cantonal coinage, with the reverse legend encircling the entire composition. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Schwyz struck this half thaler in the immediate aftermath of the First Villmergen War, a brief but bitter confessional conflict that pitted the Catholic Forest Cantons against Reformed Bern and Zürich. The 1656 Peace of Villmergen left the Catholic cantons dominant within the Confederation, and coinage from Schwyz in this period reflects the city's reassertion of independent civic identity following the settlement.
The HMZ reference 2#789a places this among the documented rarities of the canton's output — Schwyz was never a prolific minting authority, and surviving half thalers from this year are thin on the market.