Bern 1778 1/2 kreuzer
This specimen was lot 5118 in Sincona Auction 102 (Zürich, October 2025), where it sold for 1,500 CHF (about US$2,261 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SCHWEIZ Bern, Stadt und Kanton, Vierer 1778, Bern. Goldabschlag von den Stempeln des Vierers. Sehr selten / Very rare. Vorzüglich. Kleine Kratzer. (Switzerland, city and canton of Bern, half kreuzer of 1778, Bern mint, off metal strike in gold. Extremely Fine, Small scratches.)"
Bern, one of the cantons of Switzerland, struck coins fairly steadily throughout the eighteenth century altho thalers are scarce. The coinage was interrupted by Napoleonic occupation but resumed in 1817. In 1839, the coinage was decimalized to 100 centimes = one franc and one, two, four, ten and twenty-five centimes were issued, all in billon. The regular half kreuzer was struck intermittently 1762-97 and is common. This is not a pattern but an off-metal strike made for presentation.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.6 g, billon, 15.3 mm diameter, this specimen gold, 0.70 g.
Catalog reference: KM 122 (billon), KM Pn15 (gold), Lohner -, Richter (Proben) 1-222, D.T. 533k, Anm, HMZ 2-226t, Anm.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Richter, Jürg, and Ruedi Kunzmann, Neuer HMZ-Katalog, Band 2: Die Münzen der Schweiz und Liechtensteins 15//16. Jahrhundert bis Gegenwart, Regenstauf, Germany: H. Gietl Verlag GmbH, 2006.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 102: The Konrad Bürki Collection - Part 4 (Swiss Cantonal Coins), Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2025.
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