The One Franc coin is a circulating denomination of the Swiss Franc. Given that Switzerland has four official languages, it 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.
This first version of the one franc coin featuring a seated figure of Helvetia was designed by Friedrich Fisch and engraved by Antoine Bovy. The reverse shows the value, a numeral 1, and a language-neutral abbreviation of the denomination, Fr. within a wreath whose left part consists of oak branches and the right part of various Alpine flowers. This original reverse has remained unchanged and is still used on current coins. This version was heavier than current coins (5 grams) and made of 90% silver and 10% copper (1850 - 1857) or 80% silver and 20% copper (1860, 1861).
It was issued between 1850 and 1861 and was initially struck by the Paris Mint. It was demonetised in two stages - 1st January 1869 for coins issued 1850-1857, then 1st January 1878 for coins issued in 1860 and 1861.
In 1874, the obverse was changed to a new design by Albert Walch featuring a Standing Helvetia. This design is still used today; the silver version was issued until 1967 and was demonetised on 1st April 1971, and the current one is copper-nickel.
Coins issued in 1850 circulated for less than 19 years. | 
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