The coins of the Swiss franc are the official coins used in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The name of the subunit is centime in French and internationally, Rappen in German, centesimo in Italian, and rap in Romansh. There are coins in denominations of 5 centimes, 10 centimes, 20 centimes, franc (50 centimes), 1 franc, 2 francs, and 5 francs.
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, 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; additionally it has the inscription DOMINUS PROVIDEBIT embossed on the edge.
The original series of coins introduced in 1850 consisted of nine denominations. To this were added three denominations of gold coins, 10, 20, and 100 francs, between 1897 and 1925. The 1 and 2 centimes coins were retired from circulation in 2007 and 1978, respectively. The gold coins have never been officially retired, but they are not in circulation as their gold value far exceeds their denomination. Therefore, there remain seven different denominations in circulation, as listed above.
History
The name "Swiss franc" (Schweizer Franken, French Franc suisse, Italian Franco Svizzero) 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 Batzen. The name franc was taken from the colloquial name of the French livre tournois, 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 Batzen or 100 Rappen. 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 francs. 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. 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 concordate 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).