Unterwalden 1743 40 kreuzer
This specimen was lot 4350 in SINCONA Auction 98 (Zürich, May 2025), where it sold for 7,000 CHF (about US$10,154 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SCHWEIZ Obwalden, 40 Kreuzer 1743, Sarnen. Kniender hl. Bruder Niklaus von Flüe nach rechts, in den gefalteten Händen einen Rosenkranz, unten im Abschnitt Stempelschneidersignatur . I.H . (Johann Haag). B : NICALAUS DE FLUE HELV : CAT : PAT : . Rv. Sechs Zeilen Schrift in reich verzierter Einfassung, unten ebenfalls I H und ganz unten Wertzahl 40. ET / SERVUS MEUS / PRO VOBIS / IOB. 42 . / 1743. Von grösster Seltenheit, vermutlich einziges Exemplar in Privathand. Fast sehr schön. Rand bearbeitet. Exemplar der Slg. Kunzmann, Auktion SINCONA 53, Zürich, Oktober 2018, Los 6580. (Switzerland, half canton of Obwalden, forty kreuzer of 1743, Sarnen mint. Obverse: St. Nicholas kneels right, holding a rosary, initials "IH" in the exergue; reverse: six line inscription in a leafy wreath, value below. Of the highest rarity, probably the only specimen in private hands, About Very Fine, Tooling on edge.)"
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 type was struck 1743 only and is rare; this example realized double the catalog value.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: silver, this specimen 8.58 g.
Catalog reference: KM 32, Greter (SMK IV) 25. D.T. 610, HMZ 2-734a (plate coin).
- 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 98: The Konrad Bürki Collection - Part 3 (Swiss Cantonal Coins), Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2025.
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