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Canton of Zurich, Time of Mediation, 10 Schillings 1811

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Canton of Zurich, Time of Mediation, 10 Schillings 1811 (obverse) Canton of Zurich, Time of Mediation, 10 Schillings 1811 (reverse)

The coinage of 10-schilling coins first started in 1655 and was maintained until 1811. Their numerous folksy names show that they enjoyed great popularity in Zurich: people call them Vierbätzler (4 batzen), Viertelsgulden (quarter guldens), bucks or örtli.

Around 1800 one örtli was the amount which a day laborer would earn in one day, thus the wage for 12 to 14 hours of hard work. On the market in Zurich one could buy about 3 kilograms of bread, one kilogram of beef or a pound of butter for this sum. At the beginning of the 19th century, the costs for the feeding of a family of five added up to about 560 örtli per year, which shows that a day laborer was in no way able to afford such a family.

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