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4 Francs loose wreath
| Issuer | Helvetic Republic (1798-1803) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1799 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 29.30 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A loosely arranged wreath composed of oak branches (Quercus robur) with acorns, tied at the base with a ribbon, enclosing the denomination inscription in the central field. The mint mark B, denoting the Bern Mint, appears to the right of the denomination. The open, naturalistic rendering of the wreath gives the design a distinctive, less formal character compared to standard coinage issues of the period. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Helvetic Republic was a French-imposed sister republic that lasted barely five years before Napoleon dissolved it with the Act of Mediation in 1803. This 4 Francs piece belongs to a short-lived and internally contested monetary system — the republic's coinage was produced across multiple mints amid chronic political instability and near-constant cantonal resistance to centralized authority. The "loose wreath" designation distinguishes this die variety from the tighter wreath reverse, a distinction that matters considerably to specialists in this series.
The pattern designation across references (KM#PnA4) suggests this piece may have circulated at the edges of official issue — its heavy silver content and large module made it expensive to produce for a government that was perpetually short of funds.