On 30th January 2014, Swiss mint has issued a new bimetallic commemorative coin featuring an illustration of 'Gansabhauet', an age-old custom practised in the commune of Sursee in Luzern. The 10 Swiss francs Gansabhauet Sursee bimetallic Coin (outer ring in aluminium-bronze, core made of copper-nickel) designed by the artist Thyl Manuel Eisenmann from Lucerne.
On St Martin's Day, 11 November, a large number of festivities and traditions are celebrated in Switzerland. A particularly striking tradition is the 'Gansabhauet' in Sursee, where two dead geese are suspended by the neck, one after the other, from a wire rope on a stage erected in front of the town hall. Young men, and occasionally women too, dressed in red cloaks and with a sun mask over their heads, try to sever the goose's neck with a single blow from their sabre. To ensure that this is not too easy, a pointed cap is pulled down over the candidates' faces so that they cannot see anything, the dragoon sabre is blunt and a glass of red wine as well as a few 360° turns are enough to make the participants a little unsteady.
The new 'Gansabhauet' commemorative coin is available in the minting qualities 'uncirculated' and 'polished proof' in a presentation case at our online-shop or from selected coin dealers and banks or via Swiss Mint website www.swissmint.ch. The current effigy 'Gansabhauet' is the third in the series 'Swiss customs' and supplements also the Swiss circulation coins in the 2014 coin set.
Technical Specifications:
Alloy: outer ring in aluminium-bronze, core made of copper-nickel
Weight: 15 g
Diameter: 33 mm
Legal face value: 10 Swiss francs
Date of issue: 30 January 2014
Mintage:
Standard coinage, uncirculated: max. 90 000 coins
Proof coin in presentation case: max. 11 000 coins
Artist: Thyl Manuel Eisenmann, Lucerne
With the "Gansabhauet Sursee" commemorative coin, the Swiss mint is continuing the "Swiss customs" series. The previous issues were dedicated to the following customs:
10-franc bimetal coins: 2011 "Bern Onion Market", 2012 "Cow fighting", 2013 "Silvesterchlausen";
5-franc bimetal coins: 1999 "Fête des Vignerons, Vevey", 2000 "Basler Fasnacht", 2001 "Zürcher Sechseläuten", 2002 "Escalade, Geneva" and 2003 "Chalandamarz".
