Switzerland 2006 500 francs
This specimen was lot 5455 in Sincona sale 83 (Zürich, May 2023), where it sold for 1,750 CHF (about US$2,342 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "SWITZERLAND, 500 Franken 2006, Le Locle. Solothurner Kantonalschützenfest. Selten. Nur 200 Exemplare geprägt. NGC PF69 ULTRA CAMEO. Prachtexemplar (Solothurn cantonal shooting festival, Rare. Only 200 pieces struck, Cabinet piece)." This NCLT was privately issued for the Solothurn shooting festival. The weight was increased from 15.5 g to 25.6 g, altho the purity was reduced to 14 karat. 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: 200.
Specification: 25.6 g, 0.585 fine gold, this specimen 25.51 g.
Catalog reference: KM XS72, Fr-514o, Häberling 75a.
- 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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