Schilling Klippe, schilling weight

Klippe issues from Zürich were struck as presentation or trial pieces demonstrating the mint's ability to produce coins of precise weight — the square form serving as proof that no metal had been clipped from the edges. This example, catalogued under Winter Kl#23b, dates to a period when the city's mint was operating under close scrutiny from the civic authorities following disputes over fineness standards in the billon coinage circulating through the canton.