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20 Batzens
| Issuer | Zofingen, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1717 |
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| Currency | Thaler (1716-1726) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin (Fraktur blackletter) |
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| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely occupied by a multi-line scriptural inscription in Fraktur blackletter, set within an ornate Baroque cartouche of scrolling acanthus leaves and floral motifs, surmounted by a shell finial. The text, citing John 13:17, reads: 'Joh. XIII. V. 17. / Da Ihr dieses / wüsset / So seijt Ihr serig / wan Jhrs / thüt.' — a German rendering of the biblical verse affirming blessedness for those who act on knowledge. The cartouche border is finely detailed with symmetrical foliate scroll ornaments at the cardinal points. No mint mark or date appears on this face. The inscription occupies the full field, leaving no open areas. |
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| Additional information |
Zofingen's 20 Batzen of 1717 belongs to a period when Swiss cantonal and municipal minting rights were fiercely guarded despite mounting pressure from Bern to consolidate regional coinage. The city exercised its independent mint privilege sporadically, and large silver multiples like this were struck in small quantities — more for prestige and local financial transactions than everyday commerce.
The Batzen itself had been a denominational standard across the Swiss Confederation since the early sixteenth century, but valuation against other regional currencies remained perpetually contested into the eighteenth.