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Kreutzer
| Issuer | City of Bern |
|---|---|
| Year | 1717 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Thaler (1646-1798) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The arms of the City of Bern, depicting a walking bear passant to the left on a diagonally divided shield, set within an ornate oval cartouche at the centre of the field. The shield is enclosed by a beaded inner circle, with the circumferential legend reading MONETA REIPUB BERNEN separated by pellets and a small rosette stop. The overall design is finely executed in the milled gold coinage tradition of early 18th-century Swiss municipal issues. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A bold cross pattée occupies the centre of the field, its four arms flared and separated by four foliate ornaments — each comprising a trefoil or oak-leaf spray with small pellet accents — filling the cantons. The cross and decorative elements are enclosed within a beaded inner circle. The surrounding legend DOMINUS PROVIDEBIT, meaning 'The Lord will provide', is separated by pellets, with the date 1718 appearing at the base of the legend, all within a milled outer border. |
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| Additional information |
A gold kreutzer from Bern in 1717 is a striking anomaly — the kreutzer was a copper or billon denomination throughout the German-speaking world, and striking one in gold served no monetary purpose whatsoever. These were almost certainly presentation pieces, struck to order for dignitaries or as Neujahrstaler-adjacent gifts, a practice Swiss city-states maintained well into the eighteenth century. The HMZ suffix "Au" confirms the gold designation as a deliberate departure from the standard alloy.