9 Ducats 'Gold Schnabeltaler'

The Schnabeltaler — "beak thaler" — takes its name from the distinctive pointed shape produced when a large gold flan was struck with dies sized for a smaller coin, leaving the edges curling upward like a beak. Zürich produced these multi-ducat presentation pieces not for circulation but as diplomatic gifts and ceremonial awards, a practice common among Swiss city-states seeking to project wealth and authority without the infrastructure of a royal mint.

The 1559 date places this piece during a period of acute religious and political tension within the Confederation following Zwingli's reforms. Few survive outside major institutional collections.