Recently came across a coin without a country of origen. I"m not a collector so I'm just seeking information. On the front side there is a bust of a woman and the inscription "CONFOERDERATIO HELVETICA". Obverse side has a wreath around the circumference with the number "10" in the middle. There is a small letter "B" at the bottom of the wreath. The face has the mint date of 1885. Could someone identify the coin for me? Thank you.
fyln5646, You have a Swiss coin. The phrase Confœderatio Helvetica is Latin for "Helvetic Confederation," which is the term for the grouping of Swiss cantons (and the reason that the international symbol for Switzerland is CH). As for the other details of the coin, I unfortunately can't tell you much... other than the fact that it would appear to be a 10-rappen coin -- there are 100 rappen in a Swiss Franc -- minted in Bern, the Swiss capital (hence the "B"). Here is a picture of a (much) more recent 10-rappen coin for you to compare: ... and then I also found this (completed) eBay auction. I'm sure some other forum members, well versed in international coinage, will be able to provide additional details. Hope that helps! - Andrew
Hi, Here you can find an overview about the products of the swiss coin manufactorer "swissmint": http://www.swissmint.ch/d/produkte/index.shtml I attached two scans of a complete set of current circulation coins (which are from coin rolls), as you can get from the Swiss National Bank in Zuerich. since a couple of years, the 1-Rappen piece is removed from circulation. All retail prices are granulated to 5 Rappen. Currently, there is a discussion about the abadonment of the 5 Rappen piece as well. If you have any questions about swiss coins, don't hesitate to ask me Cheers, jeggy
I guess the swiss do make things to last 120 years with little to no design change. After looking at the pictures again, I wouldn't change it either. Pretty coin.
There were 3 million copper-nickel 10 rappen coins minted that year and it may be worth around $1 with moderate wear. You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
Get a gander at the paper money. Try www.ibns.it for the Intenational Bank Note Society. Take the link at the left for Paper Money Virtual Gallery and be taken to Ron Wise's pages. Select the continent on the map and then scroll down to Switzerland.
