Switser

The Switser was not considered the most beautiful tulip variety, but it was traded a lot during the Tulip Fever. Not per bulb, but per pound, which indicates that the tulip variety was no longer so exclusive. Nevertheless, the prices of this tulip increased considerably during the price peak in 1636/1637. On February 6, 1637, a pound of Swiss was sold in Amsterdam for 1100 guilders. Soon after, however, trade collapsed.

The tulip’s name may have been taken from the uniform of the Swiss Guard, the Pope’s bodyguard, which was red-yellow at the time.