One Centime (Rappen) 1981, Coin from Switzerland - detailed information

One Centime (Rappen) 1981, Coin from Switzerland (demonetised 2007)
CoinOne Centime (Rappen) 1981

The One Centime coin was the smallest circulating denomination of the Swiss Franc from its inception in 1850 until it was demonetised at the end of 2006. Given that Switzerland has four official languages, the sub-unit of the Franc has four different names; it is centime (c.) in French, Rappen (Rp.) in German, centesimo (ct.) in Italian and rap (rp.) in Romansh. Some English-language catalogues call the coin a "1 Rappen" coin, but the English-language publications of the Swiss National Bank and Swissmint prefer the word "1 centime".

Swissmint states that the first version of the coin was designed by Alexander Hutter and engraved by Jean-Jacques Barre of Monnaie de Paris (the Paris Mint), where Swiss coins were struck for the first couple of years after their introduction. This was used for almost a century until, in November 1947, the Swiss Federal Mint (now Swissmint) put out a call for new designs of the one and two centime coins, for which Josef Tannheimer won the first prize. Starting in 1948, these coins were minted with his designs, until they were discontinued in 2006 and 1974 respectively. Coins carrying the first design were demonetised on 1st February 1952.

The 1-centime coin was still produced until 2006, albeit in ever decreasing quantities, but its importance declined. Those who could justify the use of 1-centime coins for monetary purposes could obtain them at face value; any other user (such as collectors) had to pay an additional four centimes per coin to cover the production costs, which had exceeded the actual face value of the coin for many years. The coin fell into disuse in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but was only officially fully withdrawn from circulation and declared to be no longer legal tender on 1 January 2007.

Thus, coins issued in 1981 circulated for 25 years.

MintSwissmint Mint MarkNo mint mark Total Mintage 4,945,000 (4.9 million)
Obverse
Switzerland / One Centime (Rappen) 1981 - obverse photo

The obverse features at its centre the Swiss cross only. The legend · HELVETIA · (larger than on earlier coins) is around above, separated by dots from the date 1981 around below.

Obverse Inscription · HELVETIA · 1981
Reverse
Switzerland / One Centime (Rappen) 1981 - reverse photo

The reverse features at its centre the numeral 1 representing the value, partly overlaid on an ear of wheat. There is no mint mark.

Reverse Inscription 1
EdgePlainEdge InscriptionNone
Notes

The Swissmint report lists mintage of 4,945,000 and also lists 15,000 "Stempelglanz" (brilliant uncirculated) coins in the year's mint sets plus 10,280 "Polierte Platte" (proofs) in the year's proof sets. It is not clear if coins in sets have been calculated into the main figure; probably not.

One Centime (Rappen) 1981: Known varieties
Variety In mint sets
Mintage Issued: 15,000
Details

Brilliant Uncirculated ("STGL" from "Stempelglanz" in German) coins in the year's mint sets.

In Set Schweizermünzen / Monnaies suisses / Monete svizzere / Swiss Coins (1981), mintage 15,000
8 coins: 5 Fr., 2 Fr., 1 Fr., 1/2 Fr., 20 c., 10 c., 5 c., 1 c.
Variety Proof
Mintage Issued: 10,280
Details

Proof coins ("PP" from "Polierte Platte" in German) in the year's proof sets.

In Set Schweizermünzen / Monnaies suisses / Monete svizzere / Swiss Coins (Proof, 1981), mintage 10,280
8 coins: 5 Fr., 2 Fr., 1 Fr., 1/2 Fr., 20 c., 10 c., 5 c., 1 c.
One Centime (Rappen) 1981: References to Information Used
SourceEditionAboutLinkNotes
Swissmint 2017 Mint link
Swissmint 2017 Mintage link Circulation and sets mintage
Swissmint 2017 Varieties link Proof, Sets
Showing 28 from a total of 128 coins of type: One Centime (Rappen)
Coin NameMintageSymbolLegend
One Centime (Rappen) 1979 1,025,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1979
One Centime (Rappen) 1980 1,040,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1980
One Centime (Rappen) 1981 4,945,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1981
One Centime (Rappen) 1982 6,665,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1982
One Centime (Rappen) 1983 4,042,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1983
One Centime (Rappen) 1984 4,009,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1984
One Centime (Rappen) 1985 3,039,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1985
One Centime (Rappen) 1986 2,031,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1986
One Centime (Rappen) 1987 1,028,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1987
One Centime (Rappen) 1988 2,029,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1988
One Centime (Rappen) 1989 2,031,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1989
One Centime (Rappen) 1990 1,032,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1990
One Centime (Rappen) 1991 536,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1991
One Centime (Rappen) 1992 528,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1992
One Centime (Rappen) 1993 523,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1993
One Centime (Rappen) 1994 2,023,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1994
One Centime (Rappen) 1995 6,024,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1995
One Centime (Rappen) 1996 1,023,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1996
One Centime (Rappen) 1997 1,022,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1997
One Centime (Rappen) 1998 1,021,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1998
One Centime (Rappen) 1999 1,021,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 1999
One Centime (Rappen) 2000 1,026,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 2000
One Centime (Rappen) 2001 1,528,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 2001
One Centime (Rappen) 2002 2,030,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 2002
One Centime (Rappen) 2003 1,528,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 2003
One Centime (Rappen) 2004 1,529,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 2004
One Centime (Rappen) 2005 1,529,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 2005
One Centime (Rappen) 2006 30,000 Swiss Cross · HELVETIA · 2006
Showing 101 to 128 of 128 Coins.
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One Centime (Rappen) 1981: Details
CountrySwitzerland
CurrencySwiss Franc
Coin TypeOne Centime (Rappen), Tannheimer Design
Issued1981
SymbolSwiss Cross
Face Value1 (x Centime)
Total Mintage4,945,000 (4.9 million)
CurrentNo; demonetised 2007
MaterialBronze
DesignerJosef Tannheimer
TechnologyMilled (machine-made)
ShapeRound
OrientationMedal Alignment (Axis 0)
Size16.0000 mm
Thickness1.1000 mm
Mass1.5000 g
OCC IDLBRP-ORRC-BPZJ-OMNY
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One Centime (Rappen) 1981: Photos
ImageDetails
One Centime (Rappen) 1981: Photo Coin, Switzerland, Rappen 1981 / thumbnail Coin, Switzerland, Rappen 1981
Copyright: NumisCorner.com
Source
One Centime (Rappen) 1981: Photo Coin, Switzerland, Rappen 1981 / thumbnail Coin, Switzerland, Rappen 1981
Copyright: NumisCorner.com
Source
One Centime (Rappen) 1981: Catalogue Reference IDs
SourceReference ID
Schön, WeltmünzkatalogSchweiz Schön# 41
Krause, Standard Catalog of World CoinsSwitzerland KM# 46