Batzen

The chunk is a historical Swiss and South German coin.

History

For the first time the chunk in 1492 and coined in the wake until 1850 in Bern. Namesake was the heraldic animal of the canton, the bear or " Bätz " which was stamped on the reverse of the coin according to Valerius Anshelm. The origin of the term is not assured. The value of a Bernese Batzens corresponded to four cruisers. Because the florins had the value of 60 cruisers, a chunk corresponded to one-fifteenth of the guilder. Later, there were also " Grossi " (thickness, ie penny ) to 5 chunk.

Other places of the Old Confederation and some southern German states soon followed the example of Bern. The lump was a widespread intermediate currency between the many circulating in Europe, large and small silver coins. Since the southern German chunk part of very different quality were the Reichstag spoke of 1522 and 1524 against these coins. In southern Germany, they were still influenced to 1536, however, prohibit the imperial coinage 1559. In Switzerland, however, the lump remained unchallenged.

Some so-called Tipper coins yet the chunk for the designation of interim coins was used. During the period of monetary distortion, dump trucks and Wipperzeit, for example, was in Thuringia in the mints Gotha (1621-1623) and Weimar (1619-1622), among others Tipper coins to three-and Sechsbätzner coined. The character could not be rejected, because there were no thaler coins or their parts had to match the imperial coinage, but country coins.

The chunk was originally coined in silver, from the 17th century but in Billon. The value of the Batzens differed over time depending on the mint where they were. In the early 18th century, the whole chunk stood at five cruisers (1/12 Gulden Empire ), the regular chunk at four cruisers, Basel and Zurich chunk was at 1/18 Gulden reached, the St. Gallen chunk at 1/17 Gulden.

When you first launch of a Swiss single currency 1798-1803 by the Helvetic Republic of chunk was also integrated into the system. One franc corresponded to ten chunk, a chunk of turn ten cents, with 10 Swiss francs were a Louis d'or equivalent.

After the end of the single currency, the prerogative of coinage came back to the cantons, some of the decimal franc chunk centime classification retained ( Aargau, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Lucerne, Solothurn, Unterwalden, Uri, Vaud, Valais, train ). Only in the canton of Neuchâtel one franc was worth 10 ½ chunk. The other cantons led currencies with a florin shilling or florin Livres system. 1850 ended with the introduction of the new Swiss franc as the Swiss single currency, the era of Batzens. It should be noted that an old franc did not meet a new francs. Seven chunks were exchanged in 1850 for a new francs.

Younger and more modern word usage

After the introduction of the franc, the word was " chunk " unofficially to ten centimes of the new currency on, which it terms of value came closest. The Twenty centime piece was appropriately called " Zweibätzler »:

"I had a Zweibätzler in the bag, which I had found after the morning meal on the kitchen table and, without the mother to say something plugged. "

However, that meaning is now obsolete. Apart from the occurrence in many - often also obsolescent - phrases is " chunk " or child- linguistically " Batzeli " today for some coin, or for a not closely defined amount of money compare about " a nice chunk of money " (that is, a tidy sum money '), " Gotti chunk " ( in Switzerland, preserved by the godparents amount of money ') or " Halbbatzen - collection ".

In German-speaking countries is known by the word chunk of the folk song A Bright and a chunk that were both mine. The text from the 1830 comes from Albert Schlippenbach and melody ( 1885 ) by Franz Theodor Kugler.