A shooting thaler is a commemorative coin minted to commemorate one of the Schützenfest or free shooting tournaments held in various cantons within the Swiss Confederation. Most of the designs differ from their circulating counterparts, though the pieces issued for the shooting festivals in Geneva in 1851 and Solothurn in 1855 are exceptions. The first shooting thaler was issued for the Chur shooting festival in 1842 and is denominated at four francs. A total of eighteen designs were struck in the nineteenth century, concluding with the Bern issue of 1885 (pictured). Many nineteenth-century issues were also struck in various other metals besides silver, including gold and white metal, in small quantities. In 1934, a new series began production. This series, however, was cut short due to the outbreak of World War II. Another series of shooting thalers began mintage in 1984. Every year since has seen the mintage of two coins, each bearing the same design, one struck in silver, the other in gold. The only exceptions are the issues of Zürich and Sion in 1999. (Full list...)