Hey guys, I found this coin of the Confederatio Helvetica in a pile of coins which i was given by my grand father. Apparently it dates back 1885, I loved the coin, looked it up and i could only find that it is of low value. didnt effect my love for the coin, but I am still wondering why is it cheap. If there any opinions, please share it. Cheers,
It is Swiss, and the design and composition were used all the way up until the 1980s so these older coins could still be found in circulation in Switzerland over 100 years after they first circulated.
Without seeing the other side there's no way to tell if its 5, 10 or 20 rappen (KM#26, 27 or 29). So - 5 rappen, cu-ni, mintage ~560-million, 1879-1980 10 rappen, cu-ni, mintage ~1-billion, 1879-2008 20 rappen, nickel, ~750-million, 1879-2008 (Not to mention the additional millions of 5 and 10 rappen minted in other metals, but with the same design.) With a potential native collector base of only 7,604,467 (US CIA estimate as of last month), smaller than the individual populations of several US metropolitan areas, would you really expect high valuations for coins with those mintages? Edited to add: Don't know how I missed the reverse photo the first time around, but Oh Well. Having the extra information doesn't hurt.
Of course having an extra information won't hurt, definitely will be useful. Thank you for the information, and your effort. Now I understand the numismatics of this coin, which actually is quite interesting for a coin to last almost 100 years in mintage. Cheers,
Actually the design is still used today, and with very few exceptions - the brass pieces from 1918-19 and the pure nickel pieces from 1932-39 - those 10 rappen or centimes coins (issued between 1879 and today) are legal tender and in circulation. Christian
Yes, I have been to Switzerland and they still have the exact same coins, but the oldest I found in circulation was from the 1960s. Granted, I was only there for a couple weeks and did not have time to roll search! As for collector base, there are about 50+ coin dealers in Switzerland, mostly concentrated in the three big cities, but also in the medium towns. I was only able to find one by just walking around town - I do not think most of them have actual store-fronts. I have a Swiss-written/published Swiss coin price guide if anyone wants to know the "domestic" value of a Swiss coin rather than the US market value.
