Thaler

Lucerne struck thalers intermittently throughout the seventeenth century, largely to assert civic prestige rather than meet any pressing commercial demand — the canton's trade volume never required large-denomination silver on the scale that minting implied. By 1698, the Swiss thaler series was already being squeezed by the growing dominance of the Reichsthaler in cross-border transactions, making late issues like this one more ceremonial than functional. Few circulated heavily as a result, which partly explains why survivors tend to present better than their age suggests.