Swiss (and other countries) shooting medals are highly collectable. I didn't become interested in them at all until I saw this one. From the Swiss Canton of Glarus. Had to buy it. I've bought a few since, but none of them are quite so colourful.

Amazing though it may seem, the toning is indeed natural and is one of those occasions where it just seems to blend in with the coin.

WOW !!! Incredible toning ... I just love that medal
Wonderful design and beautiful relief.

Oh GOSH! I love the Swiss shooting medals. I've so wanted to get some, but they get quite expensive.

That is just an amazing medal! Thanks for letting us see it

It's a beauty. Thanks for sharing.

Thats veryyy nice

Thank you for sharing that great medal!

-Bobby

I was kind of hoping to entice other collectors of these pieces from out of the woodwork, but so far, i've failed :-(

Ah well, here's another one of mine. Thurgau this time.

I would (heh heh) if I could, but I guess I am just formica.

Here's another one. This time Geneva, 1887. I have one in Silver and one in Bronze. They are the most 3 dimensional pieces I have ever come across. The photo does it no justice.




Ian
`Seasoned Anorak'

Ian;

Very nice all. Thank you for sharing.

That is a beauty. Man, I'm jealous.

Ian

I think you need to sell off your Mary Queen of Scots Ryal to pay for these things. Hint hint.

$$$$ and twa bottles of Talisker riding on this

The toning on the first one is amazing. Very cool medal.

Man! Those are gorgeous!

Here's another Swiss shooting medal. This time Zurich 1895. I'm a sucker for these nice chunks of siller with pretty city view and countryside scenes. The semi- naked lady (obverse) really gets in the way of the view don't you think?

Ok, I officially have to stop looking at this thread too.

I don't have many more of these left to show. My interest in collecting them waned when I got hooked on jetons, but looking at them again has rekindled my own interest. Mind you, i've got a few of the more common Swiss Shooting Thalers to show after I run out of the medals

I always hear imaginary strains of the William Tell Overture when I look at this one. (excuse the poor image. I must take the time to scan it myself rather than using the original auction image).



The William Tell Overture was popularised in the US when it was chosen as the theme tune for `The Lone Ranger'. Most people in the western world (pardon the pun) know it better for the masked ranger. The medal however depicts its true origins.

Ian

Beautiful, just beautiful.

Although not really a shooting medal this dates from 1804 from Zurich:



It's a protector's medal, issued to the local militia for service in defense of the country.

I'm not exactly sure when shooting medals started but they are one of the great temptations outside of the Napoleonic era for me. There have been hours at a Long Beach show where I just sit drooling over these things...

The reverse is tempting me to etch some graffiti on it... afterall what's the point of a wide space there

Pretty neat medal you have there. I wasn't aware of these.

The only reference I had for Swiss Shooting Medals was the Krause one of the same name (small green leatherette hardback). I gave my copy as a gift a while back to a friend in the US who was hooked on these babies a bit more than I was. So i'm now floundering concerning what is / was the earliest Swiss shooting medal. Although the Swiss tend to come to mind in connection with shooting medals (probably rightly so from an art perspective) there are german ones which are absolutely stunning too. Sadly I have none of my own to demonstrate what I mean, but the Goetz one in an adjacent thread certainly fit the bill in terms of general aesthetic merit (IMHO).

Ian

Last one for now, this time from Basel 1844.

In case you are really really into these, Gietl just published a new two-volume catalog about Swiss shooting medals - Schützentalers, Schützenmedaillen, Schützenjetons, in German, 600 pages, and pretty much every described piece is depicted in color. The author is Jürg Richter. The not-so-neat part is this: €98 ...

Christian

Argh! For now I think i'll be sticking with Delbert R Krause's `Swiss Shooting Medals'. If I become re-addicted to these, then perhaps i'll splash out. However, there would be so much data totally lost on me due to my inability to read in German.

Ian

Hello group,

I'm a new member here and am very glad to have found this forum. I have been collecting Swiss shooting medals (schützenfest medals) for 20 years and my father since 1961.

I am an avid collector of mainly shooting medals but also cups, watches, jetons and memorabilia. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding Schützenfest medals (if I can). I can also give you some information regarding books pertaining to Swiss shooting medals other than the one by Delbert Krause.

I am glad to have found a forum where Swiss medals (specifically, shooting medasl) are appreciated.

I look forward to talking with you all.

Rod

Welcome! Your knowledge will be greatly appreciated!!! And come on out with those books...

Oh my, what a lovely medal!

Hi Rod. Although I might not be quite as enthusiastic as you are in relation to collecting these items, I certainly have an appreciation for the quality of artistry and strike achieved. I look forward to learning more from you and seeing some more of your collection. That's a real beauty you posted!

You also mentioned my favourite collecting area...jetons Do you also collect french jetons or did you mean Swiss?

Ian

Hello Ian,

I collect anything schützenfest primarily shooting medals but jetons were also part of Schützenfests so I collect them too. They are not as detailed in regards to the engraving or artistry but nevertheless are collectable.

I will post further info regarding books about shooting medals yet this weekend.

Hello everyone,

I am very happy that there is interest among this site regarding Schützenfest medals.

For many years the "bible" of Swiss shooting medals was a book/catalog by Jean L. Martin called 'Les médailles de tir suisses' or 'Die Schützenmedaillen der Schweiz' or 'Swiss shooting medals', it was published in Lausanne 1972. This publication was the most comprehensive catalog available on Swiss shooting medals. It contains over 1150 medals with obverse and reverse pictures. All pictures are actual size, black and white photos. The book is hardcover 8.5 X 11.75 inch format and approximately 3/4 inch thick. This book/catalog is currently out of print and very difficult to obtain. Only 2,000 published.

Jean Martin also published a book/catalog of Swiss Shooting Watches and one of Swiss Shooting Cups and as you can imagine the cups and watches are as beautiful and are rarer than the medals. I am able to obtain these books on a very limited basis. These books are in German.

Just last year a very knowledgeable Swiss gentlemen by the name of Jürg Richter published the new "bible" of Swiss shooting medals called 'Die Schützentaler und Schützenmedaillen der Schweiz. It is 405 pages long, slightly larger than the Martin book and contains much more in terms of quantity of medals than the Martin book as well as going well into the 1950's when Martin stopped in the 30's.
I can obtain this book also. This book is in German.

Jürg Richter also published at the same time a book/catalog of Shooting Jetons called 'Die Schützenjetons der Schweiz', this book is also a comprehensive catalog of Swiss shooting Jetons. Also in German.
Both of the Richter books are the most complete and comprehensive references of Swiss Shooting Medals and Jetons to date!

As you may already know Delbert Krause also published a book of Swiss shooting medals in 1965. Although it is a nice book, it is lacking in terms of completeness, although it is in English. Please keep in mind that the language barrier is small when using these books. Most all information can be readily obtained regardless of the language.

Another book similar in size and content to the Krause book is 'Schweizer Schüzentaler and Medaillen' by Kurt Käppeli; this book is in German. It does contain more medals than Krause but still pales in comparison to the Martin or Richter books. May be able to obtain.

If you desire any more information or are interested in obtaining any of these books please let me know.

The two pictures below are from the Martin catalogs...

Some pieces:

1. Eidgenössisches Schützenfest St. Gallen 1874 - 5 Franken Silver
2. Kantonalschützenfest Ebnat-Kappel 1891 - Bronze
3. Albisgütli Kantonalschützenfest Zürich 1898

I really like you jeggy.

I have to quit looking at some of these posts, its like window shopping! I can look from the outside but never afford to go in!

Maybe it's not as expensive as you think:

Here are the prices I paid:

#1 $50 (...but I was very lucky with this, normally at least much more than triple price in this condition)
#2 $20
#3 $7

You see, there is a big price range.
Certainly, there are much more expensive Schützentaler...but for instance the bronze type Kantonalschützenfest pieces are very beautiful, huge and not as expensive as they look.

jeggy

Lovely medals!

Hi,

Can you tell me how to post pics right into the post rather than as a thumbnail that requires clickinh to see larger?

Thanks

when you want to add an image into your message just click on the box marked IMG
You are then prompted to type in the web address where the image is located, then click `ok'. The board's software does the necessary for you. It is as simple as that.

Of course, that is presuming that you have the image on a web page in the first place.

Most ISP's provide you with webspace, but there are many image hosting services you can use. Omnicoin being one of them.

Ian

Thanks Ian

Her are 2 of mine . they are proably 2 of my favorite pieces of anything in my collection i see Ian has the same one and jeggy has the other one can you all give me more info Price, cataloge number, mintage etc. i may start to stream line my collection and add some more of these

here is the other one

here is another one I believit is a german shooting Tahler some one said from Saxony would you happen to have any info on this one as well . Thank you all for your time and info

And I would love to buy or trade for any Shooting Thalers

thank you again for the info

Wonderful!

Yes, Saxony is right. As the inscription around the portrait suggests - "Albert by the Grace of God King of Saxony". A similar portrait can be found on the coins from that time; Albert was king from 1873 until 1902. That is about all I can tell you though since I don't actually collect shooting medals ...

Christian

thank you for your time and effort

This `Frauenfeld' one is listed as no. 228 under the Canton of Thurgau in Delbert Ray Krause's `Swiss Shooting Thalers and Medals' (1965). There was 119 minted in gold, 5,760 minted in silver, 4,500 minted in bronze, and 24 minted in aluminium. The diameter is 45mm and the engraver is Hugues Bovy. I can't give a value for these but if you check on ebay ....who knows.

This one is listed in D.R. Krause's book as no.184 `Cantonal Shooting Festival at Ebnat-Kappel under St Gallen. There are no mintage figures given, but it appears that it was only minted in silver and bronze. Diameter 45mm and the engraver is Bovy.