Switzerland 1998 500 francs
This specimen was lot 2774 in Sincona sale 90 (Zürich, May 2024), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted,
"SCHWEIZ Schützentaler, Schützenmedaillen & Schützenvaria, 500 Franken 1998 HF, Le Locle. Schwyz. Kantonalschützenfest. Sehr selten. Nur 98 Exemplare geprägt. NGC PF69 ULTRA CAMEO. (Switzerland, shooting thalers and medals, 500 francs of 1998, Le Locle mint. Schwyz shooting festival. Very rare. Only 98 pieces struck.)"
This NCLT was privately issued for the Albisgutli 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. This one was struck at Huguenin Frères in Le Locle, which declared bankruptcy in November 2022 after three company officers were arrested for embezzlement. 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: 98.
Specification: 13 g, 0.999 fine gold.
Catalog reference: KM XS53, Fr-S19 (formerly Fr-514h, incorrectly listed as a 200 francs), Häberling 56a.
- 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 90, Münzen und Medaillen der Welt, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2024.
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