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Thaler
| Issuer | Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, Monetary Union of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1551-1565 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Central field dominated by a large double-headed imperial eagle displayed, with wings spread, rendered in the hammered style typical of mid-16th century Swiss coinage. The eagle's breast bears a small shield at the base. The design is enclosed within a plain inner circle, with the abbreviations of the three confederate cantons — Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden — incorporated into the surrounding circular Latin legend. The entire motif reflects the shared sovereignty and confederate identity of the monetary union. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The monetary union of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden — the three original Forest Cantons whose 1291 oath underpins the Swiss federal myth — struck these thalers jointly as a deliberate assertion of collective economic authority at a moment when the larger cantons dominated Swiss monetary policy. Producing a shared thaler was logistically awkward; the three cantons had no single mint city and negotiating die production required formal inter-cantonal agreements that left documentary traces still studied by Swiss monetary historians.
The emission window of roughly fourteen years produced relatively few survivors in problem-free condition, as these coins saw genuine mercenary-trade circulation across the Alpine passes.