"Swiss Frog": Pictorial love token carving on 1885-B Swiss 20-rappen coin

"Swiss Frog": Pictorial love token carving on 1885-B Swiss 20-rappen coin



Larger obverse picture
Larger reverse picture

Host coin: 1885-B Switzerland 20-rappen.
Obverse: original Liberty Head design, unaltered.
Reverse: "20" numeral planed off and re-engraved with a picture of a frog, original wreath design and mintmark unaltered.

Ex- "chullie" (eBay), 2/14/2015.

"Swiss Frog". Does this title remind you of an unappealing chocolate candy in a Monty Python sketch? (If you actually understood that obscure reference, congratulations. Like me, you are over the hill and have questionable comedic tastes.) I have always associated frogs with more temperate or tropical places than Switzerland, but I suppose there must be frogs there, too. In fact, I guess there must be frogs just about everywhere, except maybe the most frozen polar regions.

But why did someone painstakingly hand-engrave one on the back of this coin? Obviously it was a love token, though there are no initials or monogram on it. The hole indicates it was used in jewelry. We'll never know for sure, but perhaps the answer was, "Why not? Just... because."

Why did I feel the urge to add this strange piece to my collection? There the answer is more certain. "Why not? Just... because." I like strange pieces.

And look at the engraving, here. This was very nice work.

This piece was formerly part of my Engraved/Counterstamped/Oddball Type Set. A friend who saw it when I first posted it on Collectors Universe said he wanted it if I ever chose to sell it, so when I purged and restarted that collection in 2016 I sold it to him.

PS- Oh- here's that Monty Python "Crunchy Frog" sketch I alluded to earlier. Enjoy.

And don't worry- all frogs used in the Whizzo Chocolate Company's confections were cleansed in finest quality spring water before being "lightly killed". LOL. (No actual frogs seen in video.)