Origins, value, manufacturing –The Swiss franc is 175: do you know our currency well?
The federal law on federal currencies entered into force in 1850. On the occasion of this anniversary, we take stock of five questions.
Posted today at 5:03 p.m.
The Swiss franc celebrates its 175th anniversary this Wednesday, May 7.
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- The manufacture of a Swiss bank note costs around forty cents.
- The damaged tickets remain valid if their serial number is identifiable.
- The Swiss cantons used different local currencies before 1850.
The Swiss franc celebrates its 175th anniversary this Wednesday. Indeed, it is on this date that the federal law on federal currencies entered into force. The Swiss National Bank (BNS) began to issue it in 1907. On the occasion of this anniversary, we take stock of five questions.
How much are our tickets and coins are really worth?
Without suspense, a 100 -franc ticket is not really 100 francs. On the website of the BNSconcerning the last series of tickets, we learn that “the manufacturing costs of a bank note amount to an average of a few cents”. This includes design, paper and printing it.
As for parts, it is more difficult to have such precise figures. In an article in the newspaper “Time“, Swissmint, the body which is responsible for hitting current currencies on the confederation mandate, confided that a five -franc piece,” in its 2019 version, costs, materials and manufacturing included, between 31 and 36 cents “.
On the other hand, some collectible coins can reach up to 10,000 francs. This is the case of a five -franc piece of 1855, celebrating the federal festive for shooting in soleure.
Are the banknotes valid if they are damaged?
Yes, a damaged or torn ticket is always valid. Depending on the wear and tear, a business could still refuse it. But even in this case, everything is not lost. Indeed, the Swiss National Bank will be able to take it back, under certain conditions.
On its website, we learn more about the limits provided. For you, you must be valid, first, the serial number is identifiable. Second, “the carrier or carrier must present a larger fragment than half of the ticket or prove that the missing part has been destroyed”.
What was there before the Swiss franc?
Before 1850, “we paid for our purchases with testons, rösseler or cornuti”, can be read on the blog of the blog Swiss National Museum. Indeed, the country “had a wide variety of monetary systems and corresponding value scales. Under the Old Regime, each of the thirteen cantons-with the exception of Appenzell Rhodes-Exterior-had its own monetary workshops. ”
If the Swiss franc has been used in Switzerland everywhere for a hundred and seventy-five years, there are still a large number of local currencies on our territory. In Geneva for example, Lake Geneva can be used in certain companies in the Lake Geneva basin. In Valais, and more particularly in Sion, between 2017 and 2019, you could find the flour. His name pays tribute to Joseph-Samuel Farinet, a local falseatr of the XIXe century. In La Chaux-de-Fonds, you can pay in bees.
How many coins and tickets are in circulation in Switzerland?
In 2023, 5.8 billion coins on average were in circulation, for an amount of 3.2 billion francs, we read on the BNS website. As for tickets, unsurprisingly, the number is much lower, with 519 million on average in 2023. On the other hand, their total value is much greater: it reached 76.5 billion francs.
What to do with your former banknotes?
Bank tickets from 8e Series, issued in 1995, were recalled by the BNS on April 30, 2021. This means that from this date, it was no longer possible to pay with it. Despite everything, it is still possible to exchange them with the National Bank, at their nominal value, and without limitation in time.
And if you do not wish to go to the cash services from BNS to Bern or Zurich, know that some cantonal banks can also serve as an agency for it. The same goes for tickets from 6e series, issued in 1976. On the other hand, previous series are no longer taken up by the Swiss National Bank.
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Laure Schmidt Is a trainee journalist in the Swiss-World-Economy section of the Tamedia editorial staff since September 2023. She studied social sciences and psychology at the University of Lausanne.More info
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