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5 Francs Chalandamarz
| Issuer | Swissmint |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 15.00 g |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The aluminum-bronze center field depicts four children in traditional Engadine winter attire, shown in a lively procession characteristic of the Chalandamarz spring festival of the Graubünden region; the figures are rendered in bold relief, progressively increasing in height from left to right, each carrying a bell. The engraver's signature 'G. VONZUN' appears in the lower portion of the center field. The copper-nickel outer ring is adorned with a charming folk-art border of stylized tulips, flowers, and leafy stems in high relief, evoking traditional Rhaeto-Romanic decorative motifs. The legend 'CHALANDAMARZ' is inscribed in large Latin capitals along the lower arc of the outer ring. |
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| Edge | Reeded. |
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| Additional information |
Chalandamarz is a pre-Lenten festival observed in the Engadin valley of Graubünden, where children drive away winter by ringing cowbells and cracking whips through village streets — a tradition with roots in Roman or possibly pre-Roman custom, depending on which folklorist you consult. Swissmint's commemorative program has long drawn on Switzerland's regional cultural calendar rather than purely political or historical events, and this issue fits squarely in that series.
The bimetallic format was already established for Swiss 5-franc circulation coinage by this point, so the commemorative shares its physical specification with the workhorse coin of everyday commerce.