Fifty Francs 2011 A Bell for Ursli, Coin from Switzerland - detailed information

The Fifty Francs coin is a denomination of the Swiss Franc. Given that Switzerland has four official languages, the Franc has three different names: Franken in German, franc in French and Romansh, and franco in Italian.

In regular circulation, the denomination is served by a banknote. These gold coins are non-circulating legal tender made for collectors and struck in proof grade only. They are issued in topical series, celebrating various aspects of Swiss heritage or nature. Swissmint has issued at least one every year since 2001. Initially, both sides of the coin carried a commemorative design; starting from 2004, the obverse is the same and only the reverse changes. (It is worth mentioning that some sources consider it the other way round, and call the commemorative part the obverse; however, we are going with the standard definition, which is that "obverse" is the side which specifies the issuing authority).

The edge is inscribed with the motto DOMINUS PROVIDEBIT (The Lord will provide - a quote from the Bible, Genesis 22, 8), and thirteen stars representing the original thirteen cantons of the Swiss Federation.

This coin commemorates children's book A Bell for Ursli, a classic Swiss children's story with pictures by award-winning Swiss illustrator Alois Carigiet. Ursli is a little boy who lives in the Swiss Alps. He must find a big cowbell so that he can lead the spring procession through his village, so he goes alone to his family's chalet high up in the mountains. There, he spends a lonely, scary night. Generations of Swiss children have grown up with Ursli.

Alois Carigiet (1902-1985) was born in the Graubünden mountains in Switzerland. Alpine mountains became a central theme of his art, which included murals and graphic design as well as illustration. He is one of Switzerland's most popular painters and won numerous awards, including the New York Times Choice of Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year 1953 and the coveted gold medal of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1966. In 1940, Carigiet was approached by the Romansh-speaking author Selina Chönz who asked him to illustrate her story "Uorsin" to create a children's picture book. After several years of hesitating, Carigiet finally agreed, and spent several weeks sketching the scenery and architecture in Guarda, Chönz's home village in the Lower Engadin, after which he modelled the protagonist's village. In October 1945 the book was published in German as Uorsin (Schellen-Ursli. Ein Engadiner Bilderbuch) and later in English as A Bell for Ursli (1950).