Batzen

The batzen as a denomination emerged in the Swiss Confederation during the late fifteenth century, with Bern generally credited as the originating mint around 1492. Solothurn's adoption of the type reflects the rapid monetary harmonization occurring among Confederate cities as cross-border trade demanded interchangeable coinage. The name itself derives from the bear — Betz — on the Bernese prototype, a linguistic detail that persisted long after individual cities adapted the design to their own civic imagery.

SMK7 records two distinct varieties for this Solothurn issue, Slt#34 and Slt#35, suggesting at least two separate die phases within the century span.