20 Francs Vreneli
The 20 francs Vreneli is the most famous Swiss gold coin. Struck by the Federal Mint in Bern from 1897 to 1949, it was issued in some 58.6 million pieces. The obverse shows Helvetia in front of the Alps, the work of engraver Fritz Ulysse Landry; the reverse bears the Swiss cross shield surrounded by an oak branch. The Swiss affectionately nicknamed it “Vreneli”, a diminutive of Verena, then a very common first name. It was legal tender until its demonetisation in 1936 and remains a highly sought-after safe haven today.
The coin weighs 6.45 g in total. Its fineness is 900‰: 90% gold and 10% copper, an alloy that makes it more resistant to wear. Of these 6.45 g, 5.81 g are pure gold.
The price of a gold coin follows the amount of pure gold it contains, not its total weight: it is these 5.81 g of fine gold that determine its price. The 20 francs Vreneli contains exactly the same amount of gold as the 20 francs Napoleon, as both coins were struck to the standard of the Latin Monetary Union.
