5 Francs Helvetia seated, trial, zinc

The 1850 federal coinage reform was the first unified monetary system the Swiss Confederation had attempted after centuries of cantonal fragmentation, and getting it right mattered enough that trial strikes were produced in multiple metals before production was committed. Zinc was an obvious test material — cheap, easy to work, and immediately revealing of die sharpness — but it was never seriously considered for circulation. These pieces were struck for internal evaluation, not public use.

Richter documents only a handful of distinct trial varieties from this period. Survival in any condition is genuinely rare.