20 Rappen Coat of arms, copper-nickel, trial

Switzerland's transition to a unified federal coinage in the 1850s and 1870s involved extensive trial striking before any type entered circulation — the Confederation was fastidious about alloy testing, particularly for the smaller denominations where composition affected both durability and public acceptance. This 1875 piece in magnetic copper-nickel predates the adopted circulation standard and was never approved for release. The magnetic property is the diagnostic detail: the production 20 Rappen coinage is non-magnetic, making field identification of trial pieces straightforward.