page_title: Shooting thaler
section_title: 1934–1939
hierarchical_section_title: Shooting thaler / Federal issues / 1934–1939
caption_attribution_description: English: A 1939 Lucerne "shooting taler"
context_page_description: A shooting thaler is a silver coin in thaler size minted to commemorate a Schützenfest or free shooting in Switzerland.
  In a narrow sense, Swiss Schützentaler are the silver coins equal in size and weight to the Swiss 5 francs coin minted on the occasion of one of the Eidgenössische Schützenfeste, or federal shooting festivals. Three such coins were issued by the cantonal mints of Graubünden, Glarus and Geneva prior to the establishment of the Federal Mint. The Federal Mint has issued fifteen such coins with the nominal value of five francs, between 1855 and 1885.
  These coins were not intended as legal tender, even though they were issued by the federal mint with a nominal face value. Because they were minted to the official specifications of the 5 francs coin, they were nevertheless circulated de facto. After 1885, the federal mint was dissuaded from minting these semi-official coins on the part of the Latin Monetary Union. After the demise of the Monetary Union, the Swiss federal mint issued two further Schützentaler, in 1934 and 1939, for a total of twenty distinct Schützentaler.
context_section_description: The shooting thalers of 1934 and 1939 were the final two specimens issued by the Swiss federal mint. They did have the traditional denomination of 5 francs, but with the added instruction that the coins were only redeemable for this amount at the festival itself. The 1934 coin had the legend Bon de 5 Fr. remboursable avant le 31 août 1934 ("voucher for 5 francs redeemable before 31 August 1934") and the 1939 one had Einlösbar bis 31. August 1939 ("redeemable until 31 August 1939).
  They are minted to the new specification for 5 franc coins, reduced from 37 mm, 25 grams Ag 90% (22.5 g fine silver) to 31 mm, 15 grams Ag 83.5% (12.525 g fine silver), and thus no longer of "thaler" size.
caption: 1939 Lucerne shooting thaler
exif: {}