The name
Swiss franc (, , ) was given to a silver coin minted in Bern from 1757, and later also in Basel, Solothurn and Lucerne. The value of this coin was 10 . The name was taken from the colloquial name of the French , since 1726 defined as 4.5 grams of fine silver. In the
Helvetic Republic, in 1799, there were plans to introduce a
decimal currency system based on the Bernese currency, with a Swiss franc corresponding to 6.6149 grams of fine silver, equivalent to 10 or 100 . These coins were not minted due to a shortage of silver during the period of the Napoleonic Wars. During the Swiss Mediation period (1803–1814), Swiss currency reverted to a variety of cantonal . In the
Restored Confederacy, from 1825, the western cantons (Bern, Basel, Fribourg, Solothurn, Aargau, Vaud) formed a "monetary concordate" () for the unification of their currencies, producing a standardised . The modern Swiss franc was introduced in 1850, two years after the formation of
Switzerland as a federal state. The federal law establishing the new currency was passed on 7 May 1850. For practical reasons, the Swiss franc was initially created as having parity with the
French franc of the day (introduced 1795), with 1 franc equivalent to 5
grams of silver at 90% purity. The official exchange rate with the cantonal currency was seven
Batzen to one franc. The first coins of the Swiss franc were minted in Paris, Brussels and Strasbourg, until the former cantonal mint of Bern was made ready to begin production as
federal mint. The batch of coins produced in 1850 and 1851 was insufficient, and the Federal Council had to resort to authorising the circulation of French, Belgian and Italian coins. The first coins minted in Berne were issued in 1857. 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 design of the original 1850 coins was due to Alexander Hutter for the copper coins (realised by Jean-Jaques Barre of Paris), to Karl Friedrich Voigt of Munich (1800–1874) for the
billon coins, and to Friedrich Fisch of Aarau for the silver coins (the "seated Helvetia" motif). Voigt's design for the reverse side, consisting of the coin value in wreaths of grapes, oak leaves and gentian, remains in use in the current coins, while his design of the federal coat of arms on the obverse was replaced in the 1870s. The designs of the coins in current use, other than the 5 francs coin, are due Albert Walch (1816–1882). The original plates for the , 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 5 francs coins of 1888–1918 were also realised by Schwenzer, based on a design by Christian Bühler of Bern, but the 5 francs coin as the only Swiss coin in current use was given a complete redesign in the 20th century, first used in the 1922 batch, based on a design of an "alpine herdsman" by Paul Burkhard of
Richterswil (1888–1964). Switzerland joined the
Latin Monetary Union in 1865. The 5-franc coin of 90% silver was unlimited legal tender together with gold, while 2-, 1,- and -franc coins of 83.5% silver were made subsidiary or limited legal tender. The billon coins (5% to 15% silver) were also subsidiary; they were replaced by
Cupronickel and
Nickel in 1879. In 1918/19, there was experimentation with brass (Cu–Zn) versions of the 5 and 10 centimes coins, but these were again retired in 1924. In 1968, the 83.5% silver coins were also replaced by Cupronickel, as the value of the silver in the alloy had exceeded its face value, and the silver coins were taken out of circulation in 1971. The 2 and 1 centime coins were taken out of circulation entirely in 1978 and 2007, respectively. The 5 centimes coin was switched to a yellow-metal (
Aluminium bronze) alloy in 1981, and the white-metal (Cupronickel) 5 centimes coins of 1879–1980 were retired in 1984. The (magnetic) Nickel versions of the 20 centimes coin (1881–1938) were retired in 2004, leaving the 10 centimes coins of 1879 onwards as only 19th-century coins that remain in official circulation.
Bronze coins • 1 centime: bronze (1.2g), replaced with zinc (1.5g) in 1942; designed by Alexander Hutter; obv: federal coat of arms with
liberty cap and the legend , rev: numeral 1 in a wreath. Minted again in bronze in 1948 (1.5g); redesigned by Josef Tannheimer; obv:
Swiss cross with legend , rev: numeral 1 and an ear of corn. Taken out of circulation in 2007. • 2 centimes: bronze (2.5g), replaced with zinc (2.4g) in 1942; designed by Alexander Hutter; obv: Swiss coat of arms with
liberty cap and the legend , rev: numeral 2 in a wreath. Minted again in bronze in 1948 (3.0g); redesigned by Josef Tannheimer, obv:
Swiss cross with legend , rev: numeral 2 and an ear of corn. Taken out of circulation in 1978.
Billon coins • 5 centimes: billon (5% silver, 1.67g); designed by Karl Friedrich Voigt; obv.: federal coat of arms with wheat ears and legend , rev: numeral 5 in a wreath. Minted from 1879 in cupronickel (Cu-Ni, 2.0g); obv: head of
Liberty (design by Karl Schwenzer), legend . Minted in cupronickel from 1879-1980, except in 1918 (brass, Cu-Zn), 1932-1939 and 1941 (nickel). Minted in aluminium-bronze (Cu-Zn-Al) since 1981; all pre-1981 versions were taken out of circulation in 1984. • 10 centimes: billon (10% silver, 2.5g); designed by Karl Friedrich Voigt; obv.: federal coat of arms with
oak leaves and legend , rev: numeral 10 in a wreath. Minted from 1879 in Cupronickel (Cu-Ni, 3.0g); obv: head of
Liberty (by Karl Schwenzer), legend . Minted in cupronickel from 1879-present except in 1932-1939 (pure nickel). The 1850–1876 coins were taken out of circulation in 1886; the coins of 1879 onward remain legal tender. As the in the concordate currency of the 1820s represented a tenth of a franc (in pre-revolutionary currency: a seventh of a franc), the 10 centime coin retained the name of colloquially. This coin, unchanged in design and composition since 1879, entered the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest original currency in circulation. • 20 centimes: billon (15% silver, 3.25g); designed by Karl Friedrich Voigt; obv.: federal coat of arms with
edelweiss and legend , rev: numeral 20 in a wreath. Minted from 1881 in nickel (4.0g); obv: head of
Liberty (by Karl Schwenzer), legend . Minted since 1939 in cupronickel (Cu-Ni); pre-1938 coins were taken out of circulation in 2004.
Silver coins The , 1, 2 and 5 francs coins were silver, from 1968 Cupronickel. The pre-1969 coins were taken out of circulation in 1971.
franc The franc coin of 1850/1851 was 2.5g of 90% silver; obv: seated
Helvetia (by Friedrich Fisch), rev: " Fr." in a wreath. In 1875 debased to 83.5% silver, design changed to obv: standing
Helvetia (by Albert Walch). From 1968: Cu–Ni (2.2g).
1 franc The 1 franc coin was 5.0g of 90% silver; obv: seated
Helvetia (by Friedrich Fisch), rev: "1 Fr." in a wreath. In 1860 debased to 80% silver, design changed to obv: standing
Helvetia (by Albert Walch). 1875–1967 83.5% silver, from 1968: Cu–Ni (4.4g).
2 francs The 2 francs coin of 1850/1857 was 10.0g of 90% silver; obv: seated
Helvetia (by Friedrich Fisch), rev: "2 Fr." in a wreath. 1860: 80% silver, obv: a
Swiss cross in a circle of stars, rev: legend
2 Francs in a wreath. 1860–1863: return to the seated Helvetia motif. From 1874: standing
Helvetia (by Albert Walch). 1874–1967: 83.5% silver, from 1968: Cu–Ni (8.8g).
5 francs of 1855. The 5 francs coin of 1850 was modelled on the French 5 franc coin of 1795, which saw wide circulation in western Switzerland. The old Swiss franc of the
Helvetic Republic was also known as ('Swiss pound'), and the colloquial name of the 5 franc coin retains the denomination 'pound'. The original 5 francs coin of 1850/1851,
1855, and 1873/1874 was 25.0 grams of 90% silver. The obverse side showed the seated
Helvetia figure (by Friedrich Fisch) with the legend , the reverse "5 Fr." in a wreath. 1888–1916: obv: head of
Liberty (by Karl Schwenzer), with legend , rev: engrailed federal coat of arms in a wreath, "5" and "F on either side of the shield. The edge has an inscription in relief: with 13 stars (in groups of 10 and 3). In 1922, the coin was re-issued. The reason was a substantial loss of silver coins during World War I; many Swiss coins had been melted into bullion in France and Italy, and the Swiss National bank had been authorized to issue temporary 5 francs banknotes. A first competition for the redesign in 1919 received 542 entries by 202 artists. In a second competition, two designs of an "alpine herdsman" by Paul Burkhard were chosen, but the Federal Council asked Burkhard to reduce the full-body depiction to a bust. 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. A Swissmint publication of 2008 references a popular belief that their division in groups of 3 and 10 has a religious significance (for the Trinity and the Ten Commandments), but classifies this as "unfounded speculation", as the division into these groups has technical reasons in the production process. There has also been speculation as to the person depicted as "alpine herdsman" by Burkhard, with candidates named as Jost Schillig of
Bürglen (1864–1938), Sepp Maria Planzer of Riedertal near Bürglen (1881–1964) and
wrestler Franz Betschart of Ingenbohl (1871–1949). The even rarer 1912 version, produced in a batch of 11,000 pieces, upward of CHF 3,000. The extremely rare 2 francs coin of 1857, produced in a trial run of 622 pieces, is sold for upward of CHF 15,000. The rarest and most highly priced Swiss federal coins are the silver coins of 1896, minted in very small numbers. These coins are traded for amounts in excess of CHF 30,000.
Gold coins , legend . CHF 25: The figure of
William Tell based on the 1897 painting by
Ferdinand Hodler, legend . 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). It contained 6.45g gold at 90% purity. Trial production of 20 francs coins were made in 1871 and 1873, in four batches: in 1871, 200 pieces of a coin with the legend "20 FR." in a wreath, and 30 pieces with a head of Liberty design by Durussel; in 1873, coins with a seated Helvetia motif by Dorer in two batches of 1000 and 80 pieces, respectively. In 1895, the Federal Council decided that the coin should be made with a novel design. From a total of 21 suggestions, a depiction of Helvetia by Neuchâtel artist Fritz Ulysse Landry (1842–1927) won second place. His Helvetia figure was criticized as too young and romantic, and the alpine panorama as too intrusive. Landry revisited his design and the revised design was chosen for the coin. 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. The coin was minted between 1897 and 1949 with a total issue of 58.6 million pieces. A 10 francs version of the coin was produced from 1911 to 1922, with a total issue of 2.6 million. In 1925, 5,000 pieces of a 100 francs version were minted. The
first series of banknotes, issued 1907, included no 10 or 20 francs denomination. The gold coins existed in circulation alongside the corresponding banknotes during 1911–1936. With the devaluation of 1936, the gold value of the 20 franc coin rose to 28 francs. In spite of this, production of the 20 franc coin continued until 1949, and the coin has never been officially retired from circulation, even though its gold value has now risen far beyond its nominal value of 20 francs. The pre-1897 versions of the 20 franc coin are very rare. Trial versions were produced in 1871 in two designs at 200 and 30 pieces, respectively, in 1873 in 1,000 and 80 pieces, respectively. A small number of coins was made from gold mined in the Gondo mine (
Zwischbergen,
Valais): 25 pieces in 1893, 19 pieces in 1895, 29 pieces in 1897. Two additional gold coins, with nominal values of 25 and 50 francs, were planned in the 1950s. The design was chosen in 1954, the 25 francs coin represented
William Tell and the 50 francs coin the
Rütli oath. A total of 15 and 6 million pieces of the 25 and 50 francs version, respectively, were minted in 1955, 1956 and 1959. However, in the interest of maintaining the national gold reserves, the coins were never given into circulation and remained the property of the Swiss National Bank. In a press release of February 2009, it was made public that all of these coins had been melted back into bars except for a remainder of 20,000 coins of each type and year (for a total of 120,000 surviving pieces). ==Circulation==