Sitten 1710 20 kreuzer
This specimen was lot 3033 in Sincona sale 47 (Zürich, May 2018), where it sold for 350 CHF (about US$420 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SWITZERLAND, Wallis/Valais, Sitten, Bistum, Franz Joseph Supersaxo, 1701-1734. 20 Kreuzer 1710. Selten in dieser Erhaltung. Gutes sehr schön. (bishopric of Sitten, Francis Joseph Supersaxo, 1701-34, twenty kreuzer of 1710. Rare in this condition, Good very fine.)"
This one year type was issued by the bishop of Sitten. The bishopric of Sitten (Sion in French) encompassed most of what is now the canton of Valais. The bishops involved themselves in the petty feuds and struggles of the day, going so far as to participate in the battle of Marignano (1515). They successfully resisted the Reformation but were forced to cede their secular power in 1630. Coinage continued into the eighteenth century.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 4.39 g, billon, 26.5 mm diameter, this specimen 4.63 g.
Catalog reference: D.T. 969b, HMZ 2-1064b, KM 26.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, Auction 47, World Coins and Medals, Coins and Medals from Switzerland, Zürich: Sincona AG, 2018.
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