In 1706, a mint master took office in Zurich who was soon to become the most significant engraver and medallist of his time; his name was Hans Jakob Gessner I. Gessner had learned the trade of a gold smith from his father, and in 1700 had begun an apprenticeship at the Zurich mint. When Master Johann Georg Gyger retired from office in 1706, Gessner was elected as the city's new mint master.
This taler from 1724 is one of Gessner's works. The dies are carefully cut; the lion is extremely well proportioned and powerfully executed.