Twenty Francs 1871 Pattern by Durussel, Coin from Switzerland - detailed information

The Twenty 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. The denomination is thus shown with a language-neutral abbreviation on the reverse: 20 FR.

Initially when federal Swiss coinage was introduced in 1850, all "francs" (from five francs down to a half franc) were full-bodied silver, while the centimes were either billon (low-grade silver) or base metal. In 1883, the first 20 francs gold coin was introduced, with a design like the 5 francs coin at the time.

Twelve years earlier though, this pattern was struck - with a reverse design compatible with the obverses of small denominations of the time, and a new obverse. It was not accepted though, and later a different design was selected for circulation.

The author of the pattern - Edouard Durussel (1842-1888) - was born in Switzerland. He trained at the Royal Mint, London for three years. He worked as an engraver in Paris from 1865 to 1867. In 1869 he returned to in Bern in Switzerland, where he established a die-sinking business, mainly producing medals.