Swiss coins online catalog and price guide

The unification of the Alpine countries into a single state began in the 13th century, when three regions - Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden - united in a military alliance.
In 1425, the emperor granted Zurich the right to mint coins, and later other cantons received this right.

In 1798, Switzerland was captured by revolutionary France. The Helvetic Republic was proclaimed (1798-1803). The history of the Swiss franc as a single currency for all cantons dates back to the franc of the Helvetic Republic. At this time, gold coins in denominations of 16 and 32 francs were minted, as well as silver francs and small change coins - centimes and batzens.

With the fall of the Helvetic Republic in 1803, the Helvetic franc was discontinued. The cantons returned to minting their own coins. In 1825, the Swiss cantons adopted a convention to unify their monetary systems, but the single Swiss franc was not issued until a quarter of a century later (1850). In addition to the franc, there were coins in circulation in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 centimes.

In the 1870s, Switzerland began minting gold coins in denominations of 10 and 20 francs. On the coins Helvetia appears framed by stars, which symbolize the number of cantons.

In the late 1960s, the metal used for coin production changed, with silver being replaced by the cheaper copper-nickel alloy.