Batzen

1826 Batzen from Bern

The batzen was a coin produced by Bern, Switzerland, from the 15th century until the mid-19th century. The batzen is named for the bear (Batz, Bätz or Petz meaning bear) depicted on the batzen of Bern.

Other Swiss cantons and southern German states soon followed Bern's example, producing their own batzen. The batzen was originally a silver coin, but by the 17th century it was struck in billon. In Bern's monetary system, the batzen was worth four kreuzer.

With decimalization reform in the 19th century, the batzen was divided into 10 rappen, with 10 batzen worth 1 franc. When the Swiss franc was introduced in 1850 as a common currency for all Swiss cantons, the batzen denomination was no longer officially used, but remained a colloquial term for the 10 rappen coin.