Shooting thaler


A shooting thaler is a silver coin in thaler size minted to commemorate a Schützenfest or free shooting in Switzerland.
In a narrow sense, Swiss Schützentaler are the silver coins equal in size and weight to the Swiss 5 francs coin minted on the occasion of one of the Eidgenössische Schützenfeste, or federal shooting festivals. Three such coins were issued by the cantonal mints of Graubünden, Glarus and Geneva prior to the establishment of the Federal Mint. The Federal Mint has issued fifteen such coins with the nominal value of five francs, between 1855 and 1885.
These coins were not intended as legal tender, even though they were issued by the federal mint with a nominal face value. Because they were minted to the official specifications of the 5 francs coin, they were nevertheless circulated de facto. After 1885, the federal mint was dissuaded from minting these semi-official coins on the part of the Latin Monetary Union. After the demise of the Monetary Union, the Swiss federal mint issued two further Schützentaler, in 1934 and 1939, for a total of twenty distinct Schützentaler. Of the 22 cantons of the Swiss Confederation, 18 are represented in these coins, the exceptions being Uri, Appenzell, Aargau and Valais.
Most of the designs in the series depict strongly patriotic themes, frequently depicting the federal personification Helvetia alongside a cantonal or city personification, in some cases alluding to specific historical events. The 1851 and 1855 thalers are an exception to this as they are identical in design to their circulating counterparts.
The entire series can be distinguished from the much more varied genre of shooting medals by their adherence to the specifications of circulating coinage. All but the Stans and St. Gallen issues are denominated.
In a somewhat wider sense, the term Schützentaler is extended to non-official silver commemorative coins of thaler size, minted privately for the federal festivals between 1890 and 1929 and from 1949 to present, as well as for numerous cantonal festivals.

History

The first shooting medals were struck in honor of the Officers' Shoot held in Langenthal, Bern, in 1822. Shooting medals continued to be made in great numbers, minted in a variety of metals, including silver, bronze, gold and white metal.
The first shooting thalers were cantonal pieces, minted in the 1840s by Grisons and Glarus as sovereign cantons of the Restored Confederacy. The third was minted by Geneva in 1851, already as a canton of the Swiss Confederation but before the federal mint had become fully operational. These four thalers, as well as the 1855 Solothurn federal issue, were strictly legal tender. The Geneva issue of 1851, with a mintage of only 1,000 pieces, is the rarest of the shooting thalers, and has consequently attained the highest collector's value, selling for upward of CHF 1,500.
All nineteenth-century federal shooting thaler issues were minted to legal fineness, and were given the denomination of five francs. But from 1865, Switzerland was a member of the Latin Monetary Union, and since the shooting thalers were not included in the mintages authorized by the Union, they are considered semi-medallic, and not technically legal tender even though they did circulate de facto, and their circulation was tolerated by the federal authorities. The last thaler of this series is the 1885 Bern issue. After this time, Switzerland was dissuaded from further issuing these semi-official coins by the Latin Monetary Union.
Although the term Schützentaler is mostly reserved for the Swiss tradition, some German mints in the 19th century have also issued commemorative coins for Schützenfeste. Examples include the German States of Baden, Bremen, Frankfurt am Main and Hanover,
In 1927, the Monetary Union ceased to exist. Mintage began on a new series of shooting thalers in 1934 in honor of the shooting festival in Fribourg, and another design was issued in 1939 for the Lucerne festival. The 1934 issue was the last official shooting thaler that matched the circulating counterpart in both diameter and weight. The 1939 issues were not the same size and weight as their circulating counterparts, but both issues were redeemable only at the shooting festival or participating businesses. The federal festival, and with it the production of shooting thalers, was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II.
For the federal festivals of 1949 to 1977, commemorative coins were made but not to official specifications. With the rising popularity of collecting commemorative coins in the 1980s, fine silver coins dubbed Schützentaler have been privately issued for cantonal and federal festivals.

Cantonal issues

Chur (1842)

DetailsTranslation
ObverseEIDGENÖSSISCHES FREISCHIESSEN IN CHUR – 1842Federal Free Shoot in Chur – 1842
ReverseCANTON GRAUBÜNDEN – 4 SCHWEIZER FRANKENCanton of Graubünden – 4 Swiss francs
EdgeEINTRACHT MACHT STARKHarmony is strength

Glarus (1847)

DetailsTranslation
ObverseEIDGENÖSSISCHES FREYSCHIESSEN IN GLARUS – 1847Federal Free Shoot in Glarus – 1847
Reverse40 Btz.40 batzen
EdgeEINTRACHT MACHT STARKHarmony is strength

Geneva (1851)

DetailsTranslation
ObversePOST – TENEBRAS – LUXLight after darkness
ReverseREPUBLIC ET CANTON DE GENEVE – 10 FRANCS 1851Republic and Canton of Geneva – 10 francs 1851
Edge--

Federal issues

1855–1885

Solothurn (1855)

The shooting thalers of 1934 and 1939 were the final two specimens issued by the Swiss federal mint. They did have the traditional denomination of 5 francs, but with the added instruction that the coins were only redeemable for this amount at the festival itself. The 1934 coin had the legend Bon de 5 Fr. remboursable avant le 31 août 1934 and the 1939 one had Einlösbar bis 31. August 1939.
They are minted to the new specification for 5 franc coins, reduced from 37 mm, 25 grams Ag 90% to 31 mm, 15 grams Ag 83.5%, and thus no longer of "thaler" size.
LocationDateDenominationCoinage metalMintageKM numberHaberling number
Fribourg1934000055 francsSilver40,650S18H20a
Fribourg193400100100 francsGold2,000S19H21
Lucerne1939000055 francsSilver40,000S20H22
Lucerne193900100100 francsGold6,000S21H23

Private issues

1890–1929

Silver medals for the federal festivals of 1890-1929 are sometimes referred to as Schützentaler. Most of these were also minted in bronze and in gold. The medals of 1890 to 1901 were minted in full thaler size, with a diameter of 45 mm and a silver weight above 38 grams. Beginning in 1904, the medals became smaller, in 1924 reduced to 10 grams of silver.
LocationDateDesignSizeWeightMintageRichter nr.
Frauenfeld1890obv. allegory of Helvetia shielding Thurgau, Frauenfeld Castle, date 1803; rev. Frauenfeld arms 45 mm38.8 g1250
Glarus1892obv.: soldier in Renaissance garb with halberd, his left resting on an oval shield with Glarus arms, oak leaves, panorama of Glarus in the background, FÜR EHR UND WEHR; rev.: rifle and laurel branch crossing behind cup trophy with Glarus arms, EIDGEN. SCHÜTZENFEST IN GLARUS 1892 45 mm43 g 50 807
Glarus1892obv. standing Helvetia with panoramic view of Glarus, GEDENKET DER THATEN EURER VAETER ; rev. Glarus coat of arms 45 mm38.8 g, 67.8 g 55 808
Winterthur1895Georges Hantz, H. Wildermuth45 mm38.6 g 1756
Neuchâtel1898F. Landry45 mm38.3 g 970
Lucerne1901obv.: helmeted Helvetia head in profile with branch of gentian, Tell's chapel in background; rev.: Lucerne arms with laurel branch imposed over Swiss cross, EIDGENOESSISCHES SCHVETZENFEST 1901 45 mm36 g 879
St. Gallen1904Huguenin frères33 mm16 g4,759 1175
Zürich1907obv.: Helvetia with edelweiss wreath and city personification in profile; rev.: laurel branch, EIDGENOESSISCHES SCHUETZENFEST IN ZUERICH 1907 10.4 g, 15.2 g 400 1793
Bern191013.3 g 263
Bern191028 mm14 g 264
Aarau1924obv.: kneeling William Tell, „DU KENNST DEN SCHÜTZEN“ ; rev.: heraldic eagle haloed with Swiss cross, EIDG·SCHÜTZENFEST·AARAU·1924. Variant has the additional inscription DEN MITARBEITERN GEWIDMET on the reverse.10 g, 12.6 g 223 43, 44
Aarau1924obv.: Two men standing, rifles in their left hands, shaking hands, Swiss cross in square field of rays, AARAU 1824 1924; rev.: JAHR=HVNDERTFEIER DES SCHWEIZ. SCHV̈TZENVEREINS 50 mm60 g 45
Bellinzona192950 mm65 g 1465
Bellinzona1929obv. a girl sitting on a rock; rev. a triple fountain representing Rhone, Ticino and Rhine, TIRO FEDERALE - BELLINZONA 1924 27 mm13 g2,5001467

1949 to present

The federal festivals had commemorative medals minted in silver and gold. These do not have a face value in francs and are typically called Schützenmedaille rather than Schützentaler.
LocationDateDesignMintageRichter nr.
Chur1949857
Lausanne1954Henri Guisan, It recte nihil timet 1649
Biel1958Huguenin
Zürich1963F. Fischer
Thun1969K. Jacobsen
Zürich1977Lenz
Chur1985

Beginning in 1982, commemorative silver medals in gold and silver have been produced for various local shooting events by the private company CIT Coin Invest. The same company has also offered "Schützentaler" for the federal shooting festival from 1990 onward.
These medals have more often been termed "Schützentaler" because a nominal face-value in Swiss Francs was re-introduced. These denominations are fictional and not related to any Swiss monetary authority, the medals are technically tokens or vouchers that could be redeemed for the stated amount at the respective festivals, but their selling price far exceeds their face value and they are sold as collector items.
LocationDateDenominationCoinage metalMintageKM numberHaberling number
Winterthur19900005050 francsSilver5,000H39a
Thun19950005050 francsSilver5,000S46H49a
Thun199500500500 francsGold500S47H50
Bière20000005050 francsSilver3,500S59H62
Bière200000500500 francsGold300S60H63a
Aarau20100005050 francsSilver2,000S79H83a
Aarau201000500500 francsGold200S80H84a
Valais20150050050 francsSilver1,200-H93a
Valais201500500500 francsGold200-H94a
Lucerne20200005050 francsSilver1,000-
Lucerne202000500500 francsGold125-

The following table shows other "Schützentaler" commemorative coins produced by CIT Coin Invest since 1982. Every year since has seen the mintage of two coins, each bearing the same design, one struck in silver, the other in gold. The only exceptions are the issues of Zürich and Sion in 1999, one of which was struck in copper–nickel, two in silver and two in gold. Until 1995, silver issues were denominated at fifty francs, while gold pieces were denominated at 1,000 francs. Later, gold issues were denominated at 500 francs, excepting only the Zürich issues of 1999.
EventDateDenominationCoinage metalMintageKM numberHaberling number
Eidg. Feldschiessen, Oberhasli19840005050 francsSilver6,300S22H24a & H24b
Eidg. Feldschiessen, Oberhasli1984010001,000 francsGold300S23H25
Schützenfest Altdorf19850005050 francsSilver3,500S24H26a
Schützenfest Altdorf1985010001,000 francsGold300S25H27
Eidg. Feldschiessen, Appenzell19860005050 francsSilver3,700S26H28a
Eidg. Feldschiessen, Appenzell1986010001,000 francsGold300S27H29
Glarus19870005050 francsSilver3,200S28H1a
Eidg. Feldschiessen, Glarus1987010001,000 francsGold300S29H32
Aargauisches Kantonalschützenfest, Brugg19880005050 francsSilver3,000S30H33a & H33b
Aargauisches Kantonalschützenfest, Brugg1988010001,000 francsGold400S31H34
Zuger Kantonalschützenfest, Menzingen19890005050 francsSilver2,200S32H36a & H36b
Zuger Kantonalschützenfest, Menzingen1989010001,000 francsGold250S33H37
Langenthal19910005050 francsSilver4,000S38H41a
Langenthal1991010001,000 francsGold400S39H42a
Zürcher Kantonalschützenfest Dielsdorf19920005050 francsSilver1,750S40H43a & H43b
Zürcher Kantonalschützenfest, Dielsdorf1992010001,000 francsGold175S41H44
Thurgauer Kantonalschützenfest, Weinfelden19930005050 francsSilver2,200S42H45a
Thurgauer Kantonalschützenfest, Weinfelden1993010001,000 francsGold200S43H46
St. Galler Kantonalschützenfest, Rorschach19940005050 francsSilver2,200S44H47a
St. Galler Kantonalschützenfest, Rorscach1994010001,000 francsGold200S45H48
Sempach19960005050 francsSilver1,500S48H51a
Luzerner Kantonalschützenfest, Sempach199600500500 francsGold96S49H52
Schaffhauser Kantonalschützenfest, Neuhausen am Rheinfall19970005050 francsSilver1,500S50H53a
Schaffhauser Kantonalschützenfest, Neuhausen am Rheinfall199700500500 francsGold97S51H54
Schwyzer Kantonalschützenfest, Schwyz19980005050 francsSilver1,500S52H55
Schwyzer Kantonalschützenfest, Schwyz199800500500 francsGold98S53H56a
Zürich1999000055 francsCopper–Nickel2,500S54H57
Zürich19990002020 francsSilver1,000S55H58
Walliser Kantonalschützenfest, Sion19990005050 francsSilver1,500S57H60
Zürich199900200200 francsGold100S56H59
Walliser Kantonalschützenfest, Sion199900500500 francsGold99S58H61a
Urner Kantonalschützenfest, Altdorf20010005050 francsSilver1,500S61H64
Urner Kantonalschützenfest, Altdorf200100500500 francsGold150S62H65a
Zürich20020005050 francsSilver1,500S63H66
Zürich200200500500 francsGold150S64H67a
Kantonalschützenfest beider Basel, Liestal20030005050 francsSilver1,500S65H68
Kantonalschützenfest beider Basel, Liestal200300500500 francsGold150S66H69a
Kantonalschützenfest Fribourg20040005050 francsSilver1,500S67H70a & H70b
Kantonalschützenfest Fribourg200400500500 francsGold150S68H71a
Tiro Federale in Campagna, Brusio20050005050 francsSilver1,500S69H72a & H72b
Tiro Federale in Campagna, Brusio200500500500 francsGold150S70H73
Kantonalschützenfest Solothurn20060005050 francsSilver2,000S71H74a
Kantonalschützenfest Solothurn200600500500 francsGold200S72H75a & H75b
Luzerner Kantonalschützenfest20070005050 francsSilver2,000S73H77a
Luzerner Kantonalschützenfest200700500500 francsGold200S74H78
Tir Cantonal Vaudois - La Côte & Maîtrise Genevoise20080005050 francsSilver1,500S75H79a
Tir Cantonal Vaudois - La Côte & Maîtrise Genevoise200800500500 francsGold150S76H80a
Kantonalschützenfest Obwalden20090005050 francsSilver1,500S77H81a
Kantonalschützenfest Obwalden200900500500 francsGold175S78H82a
Kantonalschützenfest Uri20110050050 francsSilver1,500-H85a
Kantonalschützenfest Uri201100500500 francsGold150-H86a
Kantonalschützenfest Graubünden20120050050 francsSilver1,500-H87a & H87b
Kantonalschützenfest Graubünden201200500500 francsGold175-H88a & H88b
Kantonalschützenfest Luzern20130050050 francsSilver1,000-H89a
Kantonalschützenfest Luzern201300500500 francsGold150-H90a
Kantonalschützenfest Schaffhausen20140050050 francsSilver1,200-H91a
Kantonalschützenfest Schaffhausen201400500500 francsGold180-H92a