Are Swiss Francs silver?

holeinone1972

1st are Swiss Francs silver?

If so what are the Actual Silver Values per denomination?

Thanks

spoon

The last Swiss silver for circulation was 1967. They switched to Copper Nickel after that.

2 Franc, 1874-1967 - 10.0000g, .835 silver, .2685 oz ASW
1 Franc, 1875-1967 - 5.0000g, .835 silver, .1342 oz ASW
1/2 Franc, 1875-1967 - 2.5000g, .835 silver, .0671 oz ASW

Oops! Forgot the 5 franc which lasted until 1969 in silver, while the 68 was CuNi.

5 Franc, 1931-1969 - 15.0000g, .835 silver, .4027 oz ASW
- 5Fr commems were made at the same standard

SYRACUSIAN

Eric, are you sure that all the large size 5 francs of the late 19th early 20th century are 0.835? I'm asking because Switzerland, as a Latin Union member should have normally minted its five francs in 0.900 fineness, the 0.835 requirement applied to the smaller silver denominations. No Krause or other help in hand or nearby.


edited, I see you were referring to post 1931 fivers. The previous ones should be 0.900 fine.

spoon

Hey Dimitri,
You're right, I just listed the most recent stuff folks are likely to casually come across. The large size 5 francs, made up to 1928 were as follows:
25.0000g, .900 silver, .7234 oz ASW
Which is fitting with LMU standards. Also, the smaller first issues of the 1850s were .9 fine, then briefly to .8 before sticking at .835.

ProofArtworkonCircs

The history of .835 versus .900 is interesting. In the early 1850's silver coins became more valuable as bullion than face.

That is why the USA made subsidiary coins lighter while keeping the same finess. The LMU reduced the finess of the subsdiary coins while keeping the weight constant. The net result was the silver in one dollar in small silver was 24.88/26.73 grams = 93.08% of the silver in a dollar coin.

The LMU result was the silver in smaller silver coins was .835/900 = 92.79% of the silver in a 5 franc coin.

Pretty close - eh what? (99 and 69/100 % close)

SaorAlba

One fascinating aspect of the Swiss franc is that it is the only national currency which actually appreciated against the US dollar since 1945, every other currency has depreciated.

ProofArtworkonCircs

<<One fascinating aspect of the Swiss franc is that it is the only national currency which actually appreciated against the US dollar since 1945, every other currency has depreciated.>>

Another fascinating item is that the designs remained unchanged for so many years. Pure nickel pieces from the 1880's were still circulating unnoticed in the early 1960's in excellent shape.