Schweizer Münzblätter, volume 50-52, page 68-72. " Die Silbermünzenkrise der Schweiz von 1968 und die Tätigkeit der Royal Mint, London". The first documented use of the allegory dates from 1642, in Matthäus Merian's " Topographia", after which it gradually replaced the earlier convention of representing Switzerland as a bull. Helvetia is a derivation of the ethnonym Helvetii, the name of the Gaulish tribe inhabiting the Swiss Plateau before the Roman conquest. Helvetia (after the neo-Latin name of Switzerland) is an allegorical female figure symbolizing the Swiss Confederation. In order to address these deceiving practices, the mint in Bern dropped the B mintmark after 1970 and until 1985.Ĭoins dated 1968-1981 have coin alignment.Ĭoins dated after 1982 have medal alignment. At the time, opportunistic collectors tried to sell the coins with no mintmark as rare mint errors, which was not the case, given that 10 000 000 two franc pieces had already been minted in London.
Four Swiss experts were sent to London to ensure quality control.Ĭoins dated 1968 without mintmark were minted in London, and they can be easily distinguished from the coins minted in Bern, which bear the B mintmark. Around 500 000 early coins produced in London were rejected by the Swiss, who were dissatisfied with the dull grey colour and the quality of the milled edge. The 2 franc coins dated 1968 were produced between 11-17 July. Therefore, the Royal Mint in London was contracted to supplement production in 1968-1970. The mint in Bern did not have enough capacity to timely substitute around half a billion silver coins in circulation in 1968 with new copper-nickel pieces. The coins were released on and the old silver coins were withdrawn on 1 April 1971. The crisis alleviated in 1968, when coins in copper-nickel started to be minted in double shifts in Bern, around 1.5 million per day.
In spite of strict measures against hoarding and melting coins, around 100 tonnes of silver in 1⁄2, 1, and 2 franc coins were melted. Switzerland started to experience a severe shortage of cash, especially in the north, where coins were exported to Germany to be melted. At this time, the melt value of the silver 2 franc pieces was circa 2.92 francs, exceeding their face value.
In 1967, the price of silver soared steeply, reaching 260 francs per kilogram in August and 350 francs per kilogram in March 1968. This copper-nickel 2 franc coin replaced the silver pieces minted between 1874-1967. Antoine Bovy, born in Geneva on 14 December 1795 and died in the same town on 18 September 1877, is a Swiss sculptor and medalist naturalized French.
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