Unterwalden 1742-IH 20 kreuzer
This specimen was lot 5411 in Sincona Auction 102 (Zürich, October 2025), where it sold for 4,250 CHF (about US$6,406 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SCHWEIZ. Obwalden. 20 Kreuzer 1742, Sarnen. Variante mit kniendem hl. Bruder Niklaus von Flüe nach rechts. Mit der Stempelschneidersignatur . I.H . (Johann Haag). Sehr selten, besonders in dieser Erhaltung. Flaue Stellen. Vorzüglich-FDC. Verwendung desselben Rückseitenstempels wie die 20 Kreuzerstücke 1742 mit kleinem Standeswappen auf der Adlerbrust. (Switzerland, half canton of Obwalden, twenty kreuzer of 1742, Sarnen mint, variety with kneeling St. Nicholas of Flüe right. Very rare, especially in this condition, Some weakly struck areas, About Uncirculated. Uses the same reverse die as the 20 Kreuzer pieces of 1742, with a small coat of arms on the eagle's breast.)"
Unterwalden was one of the three original cantons forming the Swiss Confederation in 1291. Far from the main channels of commerce, her coinage is scanty and rare. Unterwalden was divided into the "half cantons" of Obwalden and Nidwalden. This twenty kreuzer, featuring the praying St. Nicholas von Flüe, is not listed in the SCWC, altho a similar forty kreuzer and ducat are mentioned.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 4.52 g, silver, 22 mm diameter, this specimen 7.36 g.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, D.T. 617, HMZ 2-735s.
- 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, Jurg, SINCONA Auction 102: The Konrad Bürki Collection - Part 4 (Swiss Cantonal Coins), Zurich: SINCONA AG, 2025.
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