Author: Rod Moore

Richter Catalog/schützenfest medal Facebook Group

I have started a Facebook Group called richtercatalog. The reference/repository for all things related to the Richter catalog.

The address: https://www.facebook.com/groups/richtercatalog/

You must have a Facebook account to join the Group. If you do not have a Facebook account, joining is very easy.

This group will allow fellow schützenfest medal enthusiasts to keep track of new medals not in the Richter catalog, add pictures of them as well as comments. Group members will be able to add comments and pictures regarding possible omissions and errors. You will be able to comment on anything regarding the Richter Catalog and Schützenfest medals and awards in general.

The Group page has “Documents” that coincide with each Richter catalog chapter so members will be able to add comments for the appropriate Document (Richter Chapter) so the added content can be somewhat organized and easy to reference.

When you leave a comment, you can also post a picture but only 1 picture per comment. After you press enter, your comment will be posted in that specific “Document”, if you have another picture you wanted to post all you need to do is reply to your just posted comment, insert the additional picture and then click enter on your keyboard again and it will be posted.

For posts that you do not feel fall into a specific Richter Chapter, there will be a Document called Richter General, this is can be the catch-all for those posts.

I will also have a “Document” specifically for anything related to Schützenfests in general called Schützenfest General.

Please go to my new Facebook Group called richtercatalog and request to join and then I will add you ASAP and you will be our newest member. The group is private so members will be the only people able to see posts. If you do not use the included link in this email, simply go to Facebook and then go to Groups and then search for richtercatalog (all 1 word).

I hope that you join and that this Facebook Group can become an additional resource for schützenfest medal collectors and more specifically, a place where collectors can add and gain more knowledge in regards to the Richter Catalog.

Richter 680/Martin 376

Geneve, Exercises de l’Arquebuse et de la Navigation. Please note that the mintage in Richter for 680a in incorrect. There were 46 silver and 142 BR pieces minted not 5 & 5 as stated by Richter. This makes R683 substantially more rare than 680.

Although I have collected Schützenfest medals, pokal, bechers, and memorabilia since 1980, my Father has immensely more knowledge than I and thus I asked him to elaborate more about the mintage figures of R680.

Below is his response about the mintage figures in the Richter and Martin catalogs –

I started collecting Swiss shooting medals in 1963. In 1986, after accumulating many duplicates I initiated a modest mail order business involved of these medals.

In 1994 I had a silver and bronze of the 1893 (M376) in my collection and had additionally sold three of each to various customers, but had sold only one M377 dated 1893. This noted discrepancy strongly suggested that Martin’s mintage figures of 5 silver and 5 bronze for the 1893 M376….and 51 silver and 146 bronze for the 1893 M377 is in error.

A review of the Revue Suisse de Numismatique for 1893, pp. 201-202 lists the COMBINED mintage of M376 and M377 that was distributed in 1893 to be 51 silver and 146 bronze, with 3 WM medals being given to members of the Commission.

Richter (2005) and Dr. Paul Stroehlin (Annuaire Numismatique, 1894) both publish figures for M377 (R681) minted in 1893 to be 5 silver and 4 bronze. Referring to the combined mintage (RSN: 51 silver and 146 bronze) of both medals in 1893 and subtracting the mintage figures for M377 from the combined total, the remainder is the corrected mintage of M376 in 1893 of 46 silver and 142 bronze.

Since the above study conducted in 1994 I have handled several additional 1893, M376 medals, but very few of the M377 medals.
Further study of the RSN and Stroehlin have added interesting substantiation of my conclusions.