Switzerland, Zurich. Silver “City-View” 1/2 Thaler Coin.
Mint Year: 1720 Denomination: 1/2 Thaler (36 Schillings) Reference: KM-146Weight: ca. 13.4gm Diameter: 33mm Material: Silver
Obverse: Rampart lion with S-shaped tail, holding oval coat-of-arms of Zurich with left paw and brandishing sword with left. Value numeral (1/2) within oval border on ground. Legend: MONETA REIPUBLICAE TIGURINAE .
Reverse: Perspective-view of the city from the port, looking up the river Limmat. Date (1720) in a cartouche below. Legend: TIGURUM / 1720
The canton of Zürich consists of lands acquired by the capital Zürich after it became reichsfrei in 1218, especially after the revolution of the guilds in 1336. Zürich joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1351. The lower part of the canton was added to the territories of Zürich in 1362. Zürich claimed and lost the Toggenburg in the Old Zürich War of the 1440s. The northern parts up to the river Rhine came to the canton after the city of Zürich purchased Winterthur from the Habsburgs in 1468. Possessions to the west gained independence from Zürich as parts of the Canton of Aargau in 1803. The people approved a new constitution for the canton in February 2005, replacing the 1869 constitution. The new constitution took effect in January 2006.