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1/2 Thaler
| Issuer | City of Basel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1741 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | The Basel basilisk, the legendary heraldic creature of the city, is depicted in high relief facing left at center, rendered with finely detailed scale work on its serpentine body, outstretched wings, and a cockerel's head. The creature clutches an ornately cartouched oval shield bearing the Basel crozier (the city's heraldic symbol) in its left talon. The encircling Latin legend reads DOMINE.CONSERVA.NOS.IN.PACE, separated by pellet stops, within a reeded border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A panoramic view of the city of Basel with the Rhine River in the foreground occupies the central field, surmounted by an arrangement of eight heraldic shields representing the allied cantons and associated territories, each decorated with their respective arms. Below the city view, in the exergue, the date 1741 appears flanked by a cornucopia on the left and a laurel branch on the right, symbolizing prosperity and civic glory. The legend BASILEA appears above the shield arrangement, identifying the issuing city. |
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| Additional information |
Basel's half thaler coinage of this period occupied an awkward position in Swiss monetary circulation — heavy enough to function as a trade coin but too large for everyday retail transactions, which meant pieces like this one tended to move between merchants and banking houses rather than wear in ordinary pockets. The city's mint was under pressure throughout the 1740s to maintain consistent silver fineness as Augsburg and other southern German minting centers periodically debased their own thaler-weight issues, creating arbitrage problems Basel's council had to legislate against directly.
HMZ 2-100e distinguishes this emission from closely related dies by subtle differences in the shield rendering — a distinction that matters for completeness within the Basel civic series.