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Haller 'Bäggeli'
| Issuer | City of Lucerne |
|---|---|
| Year | 1550-1656 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.14 g |
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| Obverse description | Schematically rendered frontal bust of a bishop occupying the central field, depicted in a highly stylized manner characteristic of late medieval Swiss bracteate coinage. The effigy wears a triangular mitre surmounted by a prominent central arch or bridge, rendered in low relief with bold, simplified lines. The facial features are indicated by pellets and incised marks, conveying eyes, nose, and mouth in an abstract fashion. The entire design is set within a plain, slightly irregular circular border, consistent with the crude hammered technique of small-denomination Haller coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (1550-1656) |
| Additional information |
The Haller, sometimes called "Bäggeli" in local dialect — a diminutive referencing its tiny, bent character after circulation — was Lucerne's smallest denomination, used primarily for petty alms and market transactions across a century of continuous issue. The city struck these in such quantities and with such minimal care that die documentation is essentially absent; Wielandt's attribution remains the only substantive scholarly anchor, with HMZ and Haas both declining to assign catalog numbers.
Billon of this fineness sits at the practical floor of medieval alloy coinage — silver content so negligible that these pieces functioned almost as copper tokens in all but name.