Batzen

The Batzen denomination was introduced across the Swiss Confederacy in the late fifteenth century as a practical response to the chronic shortage of medium-value silver coinage — the name almost certainly derives from the Bernese bear ("Betz"), originating with Bern's issue of 1492. Zürich adopted the denomination shortly after, and production across the 1501–1530 window spans a period of significant cantonal tension, including Zürich's complicated positioning during the early Reformation years under Zwingli, whose influence on civic policy began reshaping institutional priorities from 1519 onward.

HMZ 2#1127 encompasses multiple die marriages across the thirty-year span.