Switzerland 2012 500 francs
This specimen was lot 5466 in Sincona sale 83 (Zurich, May 2023), where it sold for 1,000 CHF (about US$1,338 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "SWITZERLAND, 500 Franken 2012, Graubünden. Kantonales Schützenfest. Mit fehlerhafter Umschrift "TRIO". Sehr selten. Nur 180 Exemplare geprägt (Graubunden cantonal shooting festival, Very rare. Only 180 pieces struck). NGC PF68 ULTRA CAMEO." This NCLT was privately issued for the Graubunden (Grisons) shooting festival. The word "TRIO" (three) should read "TIRO" (shooting). 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: 180.
Specification: gold.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, Fr-514u, Häberling 88a.
- 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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