The legal tender gold coins of the Swiss franc are called Vreneli informally. These coins were made between 1897 to 1936, then in 1947 and 1949. The coins that were issued after 1936 were restrikes.
The coin offers three denominations - 10, 20, and 100 francs. The 20 francs coin was made in the years 1897 to 1949. They issued a total of 58.6 million pieces. It changed the earlier design of the gold coin which was made in the years 1883 to 1896.
Coming to the 10 francs version, it was made from 1911 to 1922 with a total issue standing at 2.6 million pieces. The 100 francs version was made in 1925 only with a total issue of only 5,000 pieces. These coins claimed to have a purity of more than 90% in gold. They complied with the standards of the Latin Monetary Union.
If you are interested to know how the name does Vreneli was given to them, then it is essential to know about the design of a female head by Fritz Ulisse Landry, who was Neuchâtel medalist. Formally, the name Helvetia Head is more famous.
As said earlier, these coins had a face value of 10, 20, and 100 Swiss francs. The coins were sometimes also called Swiss Miss. Have you heard about it?If you closely observe and see the reverse side of the 20 franc coin, then it is a Swiss shield that shows a Swiss Cross and a wreath of oak with the denomination. The coins were made at the Swiss Mint at Bern. The die engraving on the coin was done in Paris. The coins were marked with a "B". The 20 franc coins have a diameter of 21 mm which is a size of a U.S. five-cent. It has a thickness of 1.25 mm and a weight of 6.45 grams gross. The coin is 90% pure and also contains around .1866 troy ounces or 5.805 grams of gold.
Coming to the 10 franc coin, it weighs 3.23 grams. It also offers 90% purity as it contains 2.9 grams of pure gold.
More than 61 million coins were made. The 20 Franc coins were the most popular as a bullion coin.
In 1935, 175,000 strikes of the 20 franc coins were made. But twenty million coins dated with L1935B and with "L" indication lingot or bullion were re-struck in 1945. Then, around 9,200,000 coins were struck and dated in 1947 with the mint mark "B". However, there were no strikes between the years 1945 and 1946. You should also learn about Vendre de L'Argent.
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