Image: Keystone
Swissmint is preparing to unveil the new 100 franc gold Vreneli. Copies of this coin should be snapped up at auction by collectors. Enough to fill the federal coffers.
Florence Vuichard / ch media
The details are still secret. The veil will not be lifted until January 30 in Berlin, during the World Money Fair, the world’s largest currency fair. Swissmint, the company responsible for minting coins in Switzerland, will unveil the design, size, number and issue price of the new 100 franc gold Vreneli.
Indeed, on the occasion of the centenary of this emblematic piece, it will be reissued. But before being able to acquire it, collectors will have to wait a little longer. The part will only be available from July 1.
Like the 10 franc and the 20 franc, the 100 franc gold Vreneli was originally designed as a means of payment whose value had to correspond to the amount printed on the coin. But very quickly, the value of gold exceeded the 100 francs minted, which made the 1925 coin a true collector’s item. Today, the price of the coin is significantly higher than the value of gold. Well-preserved pieces sell for more than 20,000 francs.
Image: KEYSTONE
In total, 5,000 examples of the 100-franc gold Vreneli were struck in 1925, of which around a quarter were recast, according to Swissmint estimates. There are therefore approximately 3750 copies left. 354 of them never left the manufacturer, and the Swiss National Bank probably still has a few in stock. Contacted, however, she did not want to reveal the number. She simply indicates that she holds a total of 39 tons of gold coins.
Seven special pieces
The 100-franc gold Vreneli is one of seven commemorative coins that Swissmint plans to issue in 2025. Other topics include the Cern research center, located in Geneva, the Federal Court, which will celebrate next year its 150th anniversary, or the Swiss artist Jean Tinguely.
Located since 1906 in a federal building in the Kirchenfeld district of Bern, Swissmint reports directly to the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) of Karin Keller-Sutter. From an organizational point of view, it is a small production company which employs just 16 people and which produces common coins, from five centimes to five francs, as well as the special coins mentioned.
For currency in circulation, the annual quantities are set by the National Bank. Swissmint mints the coins, the issuing institute collects them and brings back the old coins that it wants to scrap for destruction.
“We do what the National Bank tells us to do. Over the past year, we have minted a total of 70 million coins.
Jan Niklas Betz, Director of Marketing and Sales
This is significantly more than the two previous years when “only” 16 million and 21 million were minted. Cash is therefore not yet dead, even if many people are announcing its disappearance.
For commemorative coins, on the other hand, Swissmint has great creative freedom – even if each subject must be approved in advance by the Minister of Finance. In these situations, the Federal Mint even earns money for the Confederation, as Jan Niklas Betz explains. The subject, design and number of coins of each commemorative coinage are chosen, wherever possible, so that the coins produced – with much more labor than common currency – can be sold at a profit.
Boost for federal coffers
And Swissmint wants to sell even more coins in the future. “We see great potential in this area,” explains Jan Niklas Betz, referring to an auction that took place on December 10 in Geneva.
Swissmint sold 27 coins and thus collected a total of 312,000 francs for the federal coffers. And this not with old 100-franc gold Vrenelis, but with simple coins from previous years or even test strikes of a special coin from 2024.
“The global collector market is huge, people just need to know we exist”
Jan Niklas Betz
Betz, who has been in office since autumn 2021, is now doing everything to increase the visibility of Swissmint. He renovated the online store and opened the doors of the Federal Mint to the public.
Since 2024, Swissmint has offered guided tours which end – as in all museums – in a souvenir shop. In particular, visitors can purchase a vintage set of all the coins in circulation polished for this purpose, supplemented by a special coin.
Previously, these coin sets were also available at post office counters, but the federal company has discontinued this offer for economic reasons.
The new 100-franc gold Vreneli will probably not make it into souvenir shops. Betz assumes that they will be sold in a very short time.
He does not yet want to comment on the selling price, but experts are counting on around 3,000 francs per piece. If the coin collector fever continues, they should be worth significantly more in a few years.
(Translated and adapted by Chiara Lecca)
