A ''Stäbler'' or ''Stebler'' was a

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

struck and issued by the city of

Basle , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in 1373 after it had obtained

minting rights From the Middle Ages to the Early modern period (or even later), to have minting rights was to have "the power to mint coins and to control currency within one's own dominion." History In the Middle Ages there were at times a large number of mi ...

. The coins depict the Basle staff (bishop's staff), the coat of arms of the city of Basle. They are square in shape, struck on one side only and weigh about 0.15 grams of silver fine weight. The coin design appears in high relief, while the reverse remains blank and is referred to in

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

as a

bracteate A bracteate (from the Latin ''bractea'', a thin piece of metal) is a flat, thin, single-sided gold medal worn as jewelry that was produced in Northern Europe predominantly during the Migration Period of the Germanic Iron Age (including the Vende ...

(hollow coin). Initially, the ''Stäbler'' was worth half a ''

Pfennig The 'pfennig' (; . 'pfennigs' or ; symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former German coin or note, which was the official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, i ...

'' or one ''

Haller Haller is a surname of English and German origin. It is the last name of: * Albin Haller (1849–1925), French chemist * Albrecht von Haller (1708–1777), Swiss anatomist and physiologist, also notable for his contributions to botany * Albrecht v ...

''. After the founding of the ''Rappenmünzbund'' coinage union, the name was transferred to the ''

Rappen A Rappen (pl. Rappen) originally was a variant of the medieval Pfennig ("penny") coin common to the Alemannic German regions Alsace, Sundgau, northern Switzerland and south-western Germany. As with other German pennies, its half-piece was a Ha ...

'' coin and was increasingly applied to other types of pfennig; for the different values see the article in the '' Swiss Idiotikon''. ''Stäblers'' were also minted by other Swiss mints, but they were of lower value than the ''Rappenmünzbund'' issue. ''Stäblers'' and ''Rappen'' (''Zweiling'' - "two-ers") were initially the only silver denominations of the ''Rappenmünzbund'', larger financial transactions were settled with the ''Goldguldens''. The ''Stäbler'' was used as a means of payment up until the 16th century.

Literature

''Stäbler''
in ''Swiss Idiotikon,'' Volume X, Column 1060 ff. *

External links

at altbasel.ch * ''Das Numis-Lexikon.'' Section

at numis-online.ch {{Pfennig Coins of Switzerland History of Basel Economic history of Switzerland