Fifty Francs 2022 Vreneli Anniversary, 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 commemorative coin marks 100 years since the last minting of the iconic Vreneli design on Swiss gold coins with a face value of CHF 10 in 1922.

The 10-franc gold Vreneli, featuring the bust of a woman looking to the left, with thick, plaited hair and an edelweiss wreath around her shoulders, was minted for the last time in 1922. It is the little sister of the legendary 20-franc gold Vreneli and was produced between 1911 and 1922 at the Federal Mint in Bern (now Swissmint).

However, the thin planchets used and the nature of the relief on the obverse meant that the reverse of the 10-franc Vreneli had to be redesigned. The upper part shows the Swiss cross in the middle of a halo, the denomination and the year in the centre of the coin. The lower part depicts branches with alpine rose and gentian blossoms. The mint mark "B" for Bern can be seen at the very bottom. The coin weighs 3.226g with a gold fineness of 900/1000 and has a diameter of 19mm. A total of 2.65 million coins were minted between 1911 and 1922.