Five Francs 1981 Treaty of Stans, Coin from Switzerland - detailed information

The Five Francs coin is a circulating 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. Initially when federal Swiss coinage was introduced in 1850, all "francs" (including the half franc) were full-bodied silver, while the centimes were either billon (low-grade silver) or base metal.

Normal circulating coins went through several transformations: with a seated figure of Helvetia on the obverse, then a portrait of Helvetia, then the current design by Paul Burkhard. The earliest coins were issued with the specifications of the Latin Monetary Union until in 1931 when the coins were made smaller and the content was slightly debased. Starting in 1936, the country also occasionally issued circulating commemorative one-year type 5 Franc coins in silver to mark various important occasions.

After these were demonetised in 1971 and the denomination became copper-nickel (CuproNickel), Swissimint issued an extensive series of commemoratives between 1974 and 1990 (in parallel with the regular design), after which time it stopped issuing commemoratives in this denomination and returned to the regular design only.

The 1981 Five Francs commemorative coin marks the 500th anniversary of the Treaty of Stans (German: Stanser Verkommnis).

In the Treaty of Stans of 1481, the Tagsatzung solved the latent conflict between the rural and urban cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy, averting the breaking of the Confederacy, and triggering its further expansion from 8 to 13 members until 1513.

The tensions between the cantons had arisen in the wake of the Burgundy Wars, among other things due to disagreement over the distribution of spoils which culminated in the Saubannerzug. According to Diebold Schilling the Younger, who was present at the session of the Tagsatzung, the conflict was resolved as on 22 December the pastor of Stans, Heini Amgrund, brought a message from the hermit Niklaus von Flüe. Upon reception of the message, the quarrels were laid aside. The content of the message is unknown.

The compromise solution entailed the accession of Fribourg and Solothurn as full members of the Confederacy.

5 Fr. coins issued in 1981 have now been in circulation for 44 years.