Coins of the Swiss franc
The name of the subunit is centime in French and internationally,[1] Rappen in German, centesimo in Italian, and rap in Romansh.
[2] All coins have the legend of either Helvetia or Confœderatio Helvetica, the Latin name of the Swiss Confederation, along with the year number.
The 5, 10, and 20 centimes coins show a head of Liberty in profile, designed by Karl Schwenzer (1879).
The 1⁄2, 1, and 2 francs coins show a standing figure of the national personification Helvetia, designed by Albert Walch (1860).
The 5 francs coin on the obverse shows a portrait of an "alpine herdsman" (Alphirte), designed by Paul Burkhard (1922), and on the reverse the federal coat of arms;[3] additionally it has the inscription Dominus Providebit embossed on the edge.
To this were added three denominations of gold coins, 10, 20, and 100 francs, between 1897 and 1925, following the standards of the Latin Monetary Union.
In the Restored Confederacy, from 1825, the western cantons (Bern, Basel, Fribourg, Solothurn, Aargau, Vaud) formed a "monetary concordate" (Münzkonkordat) for the unification of their currencies, producing a standardised Konkordatsbatzen.
The modern Swiss franc was introduced in 1850, two years after the formation of Switzerland as a federal state.
There was no federal paper money prior to 1907, with the establishment of the Swiss National Bank, although the cantons had the right to issue banknotes.
The original plates for the 1⁄2, 1 and 2 francs coins were cut by Geneva medalist Antoine Bovy (1795–1877) in 1874.
The "head of Liberty" used on the 5, 10 and 20 centimes coins was realised by Württemberg medalist Karl Schwenzer (1843–1904) in 1879.
The 1⁄2 franc coin of 1850/1851 was 2.5g of 90% silver; obv: seated Helvetia (by Friedrich Fisch), rev: "1⁄2 Fr."
The 1 franc coin was 5.0g of 90% silver; obv: seated Helvetia (by Friedrich Fisch), rev: "1 Fr."
The 2 francs coin of 1850/1857 was 10.0g of 90% silver; obv: seated Helvetia (by Friedrich Fisch), rev: "2 Fr."
1860: 80% silver, obv: a Swiss cross in a circle of stars, rev: legend 2 Francs in a wreath.
1888–1916: obv: head of Liberty (by Karl Schwenzer), with legend Confœderatio Helvetica, rev: engrailed federal coat of arms in a wreath, "5" and "F on either side of the shield.
In reaction to a suggestion that they represent the Thirteen Cantons,[6] Edmund Platel, director of the federal mint, in a 1899 article asserted that they hold no significance, being merely used as filler between the words.
The 1873 version of the 5 francs coin, produced in a small batch of 30,000 pieces, sees offers upward of CHF 2,000 in auctions.
[10] The extremely rare 2 francs coin of 1857, produced in a trial run of 622 pieces, is sold for upward of CHF 15,000.
[12] The 20 franc gold coin was introduced in 1883, in the same design as the 5 francs coin at the time (with the Liberty head by Albert Walch, facing left, on the obverse, and a coat of arms designed by Albert Walch on the reverse).
From a total of 21 suggestions, a depiction of Helvetia by Neuchâtel artist Fritz Ulysse Landry (1842–1927) won second place.
It shows a female head with tresses in profile, with a garland of edelweiss and an alpine panorama.
A trial run of only 12 pieces shows the head with an additional forelock which was removed as "too frivolous".
The final design was still criticized as still too frivolous for a national representation, but at the same time it was widely popular and given the endearing nickname of Vreneli.
In this year, the federal mint produced a special batch of 5 francs coins for the Eidgenössisches Schützenfest in Solothurn.
