10 Francs Vreneli
The 10 francs Vreneli is the little sister of the famous 20 francs Vreneli. Struck by the Federal Mint in Bern between 1911 and 1922, it shows on the obverse the profile of Helvetia in front of the Alps, designed by the Neuchâtel engraver Fritz Ulysse Landry; the reverse bears the Swiss cross shield, the face value and the year. The nickname “Vreneli”, a diminutive of Verena, was given to it by the Swiss public, who saw a young country girl in the portrait. Demonetised in 1936, it is today one of the smallest Swiss gold investment coins and is appreciated for its accessible price.
The coin weighs 3.23 g in total. Its fineness is 900‰: it contains 90% gold, the rest being copper, added to make it more resistant to wear. Of these 3.23 g, 2.90 g are pure gold.
The value of a gold coin depends on the amount of pure gold it contains, not on its total weight: for the 10 francs Vreneli, it is these 2.90 g of fine gold that count. As with all small denominations, its premium over the gold price is higher than that of heavier coins.
