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 1986 Five Francs commemorative coin marks the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Sempach.
The Battle of Sempach was fought on 9 July 1386, between Leopold III, Duke of Austria and the Old Swiss Confederacy. The battle was a decisive Swiss victory in which Duke Leopold and numerous Austrian nobles died. The victory helped turn the loosely allied Swiss Confederation into a more unified nation and is seen as a turning point in the growth of Switzerland.
Coins issued in 1986 had incuse edge lettering (cut into the metal and not in relief as the later ones). Due to extensive forgeries, they were withdrawn from circulation and demonetised on 1st January 2004; thus, they circulated for less than 18 years. |