Switzerland 2013 500 francs
This specimen was lot 5438 in Sincona sale 83 (Zurich, May 2023), where it sold for 1,200 CHF (about US$1,606 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "SWITZERLAND, 500 Franken 2013, Le Locle. Kantonales Schützenfest in Luzern. Sehr selten. Nur 150 Exemplare geprägt. Polierte Platte (Very rare. Only 150 pieces struck, Choice Proof." This NCLT was privately issued for the Luzern 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: 150.
Specification: gold, this specimen 15.58 g.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, Fr-514v, Häberling 90a.
- 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.
- [1]Richter, Jurg, SINCONA Auction 83, World and Swiss Coins and Medals, Zurich: SINCONA AG, 2023.
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