Switzerland 2000 500 francs
This specimen was lot 5471 in Sincona sale 83 (Zürich, May 2023), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted, "SWITZERLAND, 500 Franken 2000, Le Locle. Eidgenössisches Schützenfest in Bière. Selten. Nur 300 Exemplare geprägt. NGC PF68 ULTRA CAMEO. Prachtexemplar (confederation shooting festival in Bière. Rare. Only 300 pieces struck, Cabinet piece)." This NCLT was privately issued for the Bière shooting festival. Shooting festival medals/coins are a Swiss tradition going back before confederation in 1848. The early ones (before World War One) were struck to the standard of a silver five francs and circulated as such even tho they bore no denomination. Later ones are strictly collector items with no face value and should be classed as medals, not coins. They are not listed in the regular SCWC. Many are accompanied by a silver fifty francs.
Recorded mintage: 300.
Specification: 13 g, 0.999 fine gold, this specimen 13.00 g.
Catalog reference: KM XS60, Fr-S21 (formerly Fr-514j), Häberling 63a.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Unusual World Coins, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- 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 83, World and Swiss Coins and Medals, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2023.
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