Groschen Grosso Ambrosino

The Monetary Union of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden — the three forest cantons at the core of the Swiss Confederacy — struck this groschen in imitation of the Milanese grosso ambrosino, a deliberate borrowing from Lombard monetary tradition to facilitate trade across the Alpine passes the cantons effectively controlled. The St. Gotthard route made these communities significant intermediaries between northern Europe and Italy, and their coinage reflected that economic position directly.

The type ran for nearly half a century under a joint monetary agreement, an unusually long span for such a small issuing authority.