Five Francs 1944 Battle of St. Jakob, Coin from Switzerland - detailed information

The Five Francs coin is a circulating denomination of the Swiss Franc. Given that Switzerland has four official languages, the Franc has three different names: Franken in German, franc in French and Romansh, and franco in Italian. Initially when federal Swiss coinage was introduced in 1850, all "francs" (including the half franc) were full-bodied silver, while the centimes were either billon (low-grade silver) or base metal.

Normal circulating coins went through several transformations: with a seated figure of Helvetia on the obverse, then a portrait of Helvetia, then the current design by Paul Burkhard. The earliest coins were issued with the specifications of the Latin Monetary Union until in 1931 when the coins were made smaller and the content was slightly debased to 0.835 silver / 0.165 copper.

Starting in 1936, the country also occasionally issued circulating commemorative one-year type 5 Franc coins to mark various important occasions. These had the same dimensions and silver content as those of the regular type. Together with them, they were demonetised on 1st April 1971 when silver was abandoned and the current CuproNickel 5 Fr. coins became the only 5 Francs in circulation.

The 1944 Five Francs coin commemorates the 500th anniversary of the Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs ("Schlacht bei St. Jakob" in German).

The Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs was fought between the Old Swiss Confederacy and French (mostly Armagnac) mercenaries, on the banks of the river Birs. The battle took place on 26 August 1444 and was part of the Old Zürich War. The site of the battle was near Münchenstein, Switzerland, just outside the city walls of Basel, today within Basel's St-Alban district.

Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini (1405 - 1464, later Pope Pius II, until 1439 participant in the Council of Florence), described the battle in vivid detail, telling how the Swiss ripped bloody crossbow bolts from their bodies, and charged the enemy even after they had been pierced by spears or had lost their hands, charging the Armagnacs to avenge their [own] deaths. The fighting lasted for several hours and was of an intensity evoking awed commentary from witnesses. Eventually, the Swiss pike squares weakened, so the commander ordered his men to retreat into a small hospital of St. Jakob. A small reinforcement from Basel was repulsed, and its leader, Henman Sevogel, was killed. The Armagnac troops set their artillery to bombarding the hospital, inflicting heavy casualties on the Swiss. But the Swiss, as the offensive party, categorically refused to surrender and as the Armagnacs moved into the hospital, the remaining Swiss were pressed into the hospital's garden and killed to the last man within half an hour.

Even though the battle itself was a devastating defeat for the Swiss, and a major blow to Bern, the canton which contributed the force, it was nevertheless a Swiss success in strategic terms. In view of the heavy casualties on the French side, the original plan of moving towards Zürich, where a Swiss force of 30,000 was ready, was now judged unfavourably by the French and their troops turned back, contributing to the eventual Swiss victory in the Old Zürich War. The actions of the Swiss was praised as heroic by contemporary observers and reports of the event quickly spread throughout Europe.

The battle became a symbol of Swiss military bravery in the face of overwhelming odds and was celebrated in 19th century Swiss patriotism. The death of knight Burkhard VII. Münch, according to the chroniclers at the hands of a dying Swiss fighter, became symbolic of the outcome of the battle and the strategy of deterring powers of superior military strength from invading Switzerland by the threat of inflicting disproportionate casualties even in defeat, pursued by Swiss high command during the World Wars - and especially relevant at the time when the coin was issued, with World War II still raging in countries neighbouring Switzerland.