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Batzen Doppio Grosso
| Issuer | Uri and Nidwalden, Monetary Union of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1506-1529 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays two heraldic shields side by side, each surmounted by a crowned eagle displayed — the left shield bearing the arms of Uri (a black bull's head) and the right bearing those of Nidwalden (a key) — set beneath a single imperial crown at top center. The composition is rendered in bold late-Gothic style typical of early sixteenth-century Swiss cantonal coinage. A beaded inner circle frames the central device, with the circumferential Latin legend running between the inner and outer borders of the coin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field features a bold ornate cross pattée quartering four heraldic lily-form (fleur-de-lis style) motifs, each quarter containing a decorative foliate element rendered in the late-Gothic manner. The cross divides the field into four equal quadrants, each inhabited by a stylized floral device. A beaded inner circle encloses the central design, with the circumferential Latin mint legend — identifying the Bellinzona mint — running between the inner and outer borders in Gothic letterforms. |
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| Additional information |
The joint monetary union between Uri and Nidwalden was a pragmatic response to the commercial demands of the Gotthard trade routes, where inconsistent local coinages created friction at every toll point and market. These two forest cantons, perpetually short of the minting infrastructure enjoyed by Bern or Zurich, pooled authority to issue a workable transalpine silver denomination. The arrangement was unusual — cantonal monetary unions of this specificity were rare even by Swiss confederate standards.
The HMZ reference places this type within a narrow window of cooperative minting before the Reformation fractured many such intercantonale agreements.