{"id":3375,"date":"2023-06-29T14:01:38","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T12:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web-dev.sondermuenze.ch\/?post_type=magazin&p=3375"},"modified":"2023-06-29T13:58:26","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T11:58:26","slug":"175th-anniversary-of-the-federal-constitution","status":"publish","type":"magazin","link":"https:\/\/web-dev.sondermuenze.ch\/en\/magazine\/175th-anniversary-of-the-federal-constitution\/","title":{"rendered":"175th anniversary of the Federal Constitution"},"content":{"rendered":"
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175th<\/sup> anniversary
\nof the Federal Constitution<\/h1>\n

As we celebrate the 175th<\/sup> anniversary of the Federal Constitution, we look back at 175 eventful years of Swiss coin history.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"1850:<\/picture><\/div>1850: Swiss francs<\/span><\/div>

Before 1848<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Prior to the coinage reform, the monetary situation in Switzerland was chaotic to say the least,<\/h3>\n

with 80\u2009% of circulating coins being foreign. These entered the country via mercenary services and through the Alpine transit. \u201cOnly\u201d the remaining 20\u2009% were domestic coinage, made up of more than 860 types of coin with at least 8,000 different designs. In an effort to bring order to this chaos, the Federal Diet made repeated attempts to standardise the monetary system, but to no avail.<\/p>\n

In retrospect, the term \u201cchaos\u201d seems almost an understatement. Prior to the coinage reform, Switzerland had a bewildering variety of coin types. Identifying counterfeit or bad coins was virtually impossible, and conversion involved consulting books of tables and instructions.<\/p>\n

The Swiss franc was the currency of the Helvetic Republic, established following the collapse of the Old Swiss Confederacy after the invasion by French troops in 1793. The franc was divided into 10 batzen or 100 centimes. This was the first decimal currency system in the history of Switzerland. However, this attempt at reform failed and so monetary chaos persisted, with yet another type of coin added to the plethora already in existence. After the collapse of the Helvetic Republic in 1803, the prerogative of coinage returned to the cantons, which unsurprisingly did nothing to simplify the situation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″]

Coin confusion
\n<\/strong>\u201cIt is well known that knowledge of different currencies is one of the first things that parents teach their children, because it would be fatal if they were to prefer a large French or Bohemian coin to a small but weighty gold piece, entailing perhaps a hundredfold loss. They would tell of this all their lives, even if they lived to the age of 100.\u201d From \u201cDer Herr Esau\u201d by Jeremias Gotthelf.<\/p>\n<\/div>[\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″]

\u00abFrankenf\u00fcssler\u00bb and \u00abGuldenf\u00fcssler\u00bb
\n<\/strong>The earlier discussions about the creation of a single Swiss currency flared up again. While eastern Switzerland was in favour of the \u201cguldenfuss\u201d (florin-based) system used in southern Germany, the cantons west of Zurich advocated the franc system. This debate was brought to an end in 1850 by Parliament\u2019s decision in favour of the franc system.<\/p>\n

To this day, the terms \u201cFrankenf\u00fcssler\u201d and \u201cGuldenf\u00fcssler\u201d (denoting advocates of the two currency systems) are occasionally used when voting results in French-speaking Switzerland differ substantially from those in the German-speaking parts of the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>[\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner]

\"Bundesverfassung\"<\/picture><\/div>The Federal Constitution of 1848 gave the federal government (known as the Confederation) the sole right to mint coins.<\/span><\/div>

1850<\/h2>\n

From the coinage reform to the disbanding of the Latin Monetary Union<\/h3>\n

The first Federal Coinage Act, enacted on 7 May 1850, defined the Swiss franc as follows: \u201cArt. 1: The standard for the Swiss coin unit, denominated francs, shall be five grammes of silver, 90 percent fine. Art. 2: The franc shall be divided into one hundred centimes.\u201d While the larger coin denominations (\u00bd, 1, 2 and 5 francs) were minted entirely from 0,900 silver (full-bodied coins), the smaller denominations were made of a low-grade silver alloy also known as billon (5, 10 and 20 centimes), or of bronze (1 and 2 centimes).<\/p>\n

As Switzerland did not have its own mint, the coins had to be minted in Paris and Strasbourg. These mints were private companies but operated under government supervision. While this supervision also applied to the correct minting of the commissioned Swiss coins, it prevented neither partial damage to the coin dies nor irregular and unsightly coinage. In its dispatch on the establishment of a Swiss mint, the Federal Council wrote in 1854: \u201cThe coins produced for Switzerland in French mints left much to be desired, especially the billon pieces… Moreover, the officials inspecting Swiss coins did not always perform their task as fully as Switzerland would have liked.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Alte<\/picture><\/div>
The Old Mint with the M\u00fcnztor (Mint Gate) in Gerberngraben. Built in 1787 by J. D. Antoine, architect of the Paris Mint, it was taken over by the Confederation in 1855. The site is now home to the Bellevue Palace hotel\u2019s Restaurant zur M\u00fcnz (Restaurant at the Mint).<\/div><\/div>

1853<\/h2>\n

The old and new Federal Mint in Bern<\/h3>\n

The Confederation took over Bern\u2019s former cantonal mint in Gerberngraben in 1853 but minted far fewer coins than were actually needed for circulation. The close alignment with the French coinage system meant that foreign coins could be used. Consequently, around 80\u2009% of the money in circulation continued to consist of foreign currency. This state of affairs was subsequently sanctioned in 1865 by the \u201cConvention mon\u00e9taire\u201d concluded with France, Belgium and Italy.<\/p>\n

The Old Bern Mint re-opened as the first Federal Mint on 1 September 1855. However, as the demand for coins increased, the rooms and technical facilities at the Old Mint became too cramped.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Helvetische<\/picture><\/div><\/div>

The Latin Monetary Union
\n<\/strong>The emerging world economy of the 1800s lacked a cross-border and international payment system. To facilitate their trade relations, France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland signed a monetary convention in 1865 (the Latin Monetary Union) which contained specific provisions on the weight, fineness, shape and exchange rate of gold and silver coins, and established per capita minting quotas based on the population of each state.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"1906:<\/picture><\/div>
1906: The New Mint<\/div><\/div>
\"1906:<\/picture><\/div>1906: Two gold medals were issued to commemorate the Mint\u2019s construction.<\/span><\/div>

1906<\/h2>\n

In accordance with a Federal Assembly decree, a new Federal Mint was built at Kirchenfeld in Bern. Work began on 10 October 1902 and the building opened on 2 July 1906.<\/p>\n

Built in an industrial material \u2013 yellow exposed brick \u2013 in keeping with its industrial purpose, the relatively sober edifice is sparing in its architectural decoration: the main fa\u00e7ade, possibly inspired by the fa\u00e7ade of the Burgerspital in Bern, includes the Swiss national emblem at the top and two coin images carved in marble next to the main entrance. These features thus define the building: its location (Bern), the fact that it belongs to the Confederation, and its purpose (minting coins).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

To be continued:
\n<\/strong>The history of Swiss coins and Swissmint does not end there. You can find out more about the period from 1926 onwards, the dissolution of the Latin Monetary Union, and the abandonment of gold and silver coinage and full-bodied coins in the next issue of the magazine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source<\/strong><\/em>
\n\u201cDie Eidgen\u00f6ssische M\u00fcnzst\u00e4tte in Bern\u201d \u2013 Gesellschaft f\u00fcr Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte, <\/em>
\nBern 2006 \u2013 ISBN 3-85782-799-8 \/ ISBN 978-3-85782-799-0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″]

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