Dicken Countermarked

The three Forest Cantons — Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden — operated a short-lived monetary union in the early sixteenth century partly to assert collective control over the coin types circulating in their territories. Countermarking existing dicken was a practical enforcement mechanism: foreign or cantonal issues that met weight and fineness standards were stamped and reauthorized for local circulation rather than melted, saving the considerable cost of recoinage.

The HMZ reference 2-941a distinguishes this countermarked type from the union's own struck issues. The window between 1500 and 1513 closes with the confederation's broader monetary realignments following the Italian campaigns.