Basel's municipal gold issues of the late seventeenth century served a specific civic function: presentation pieces distributed by the city council to dignitaries, foreign envoys, and favored citizens during the Christmas season — hence the enduring nickname. These were not minted for commerce. Fr#85 is documented across a date range rather than a single year precisely because the dies were reused across multiple holiday distributions, with the council ordering strikes as political occasion demanded rather than on any fixed schedule.
Basel's municipal gold issues of the late seventeenth century served a specific civic function: presentation pieces distributed by the city council to dignitaries, foreign envoys, and favored citizens during the Christmas season — hence the enduring nickname. These were not minted for commerce. Fr#85 is documented across a date range rather than a single year precisely because the dies were reused across multiple holiday distributions, with the council ordering strikes as political occasion demanded rather than on any fixed schedule.