Twenty-five Francs 1959, Coin from Switzerland - detailed information

Twenty-five Francs 1959, Coin from Switzerland (withdrawn 1959)
CoinTwenty-five Francs 1959

The Twenty-five Francs gold coin coin was a denomination of the Swiss Franc which did not happen.

After the earlier gold 10 Fr, 20 Fr and 100 Fr coins were withdrawn from circulation in 1936 - because their intrinsic value was higher than their face value, two new gold coins were planned in the 1950s with nominal values of 25 and 50 francs.

The design was chosen in 1954; the 25 francs coin represented William Tell and the 50 francs coin the Rütli Oath. The reverse was designed by Battista Ratti, and the obverses by Remo Rossi.

A total of 15 and 6 million pieces of the 25 and 50 francs version, respectively, were minted in 1955, 1956 and 1959. However, in the interest of maintaining the national gold reserves, the coins were never issued into circulation and remained the property of the Swiss National Bank. In a press release of February 2009, it was made public that most of these coins had been melted back into gold bars except for a remainder of 20,000 coins of each type and year (for a total of 120,000 surviving pieces); these remain stored at a bank despite numerous requests by the public to have them released.

None of those coins have ever been available to collectors, although some were distributed to dignitaries at the time in extremely limited quantities.

MintBern Mint Mint MarkLetter B Total Mintage 5,000,000 (5.0 million) , Rarity: R3 (Extremely Rare)
Obverse
Switzerland / Twenty-five Francs 1959 - obverse photo

The obverse shows the value, a large numeral 25, at centre; above that, the denomination abbreviated to FR; below it, a small Swiss Cross.

Under the cross, the date 1959; below that, the mint mark B of the Federal Mint of Switzerland (ex Bern Mint, now known as Swissmint).

All around, the legend CONFOEDERATIO HELVETICA (from Latin: Confederation of Switzerland).

Obverse Inscription 25 FR 1959 CONFOEDERATIO HELVETICA
Reverse
Switzerland / Twenty-five Francs 1959 - reverse photo

In the centre of the reverse is a depiction of Wilhelm Tell (known in English as William Tell) - a famous Swiss folk hero. He is standing on the ground facing the observer, with a crossbow in his left hand and with his right hand raised in the air. This representation is based on a painting by Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler (1853 - 1918).

The legend around reads IN ARMIS LIBERTAS ET PAX, from Latin: "in arms is liberty and peace".

A small inscription in the ground to the right of William Tell's figure reads F. HODLER PINX - abbreviated from FERDINAND HODLER PINXIT, "painted by Ferdinand Hodler". In the lower left of the ground, REMO ROSSI SCULPT - abbreviated from REMO ROSSI SCULPSIT, "engraved by Remo Rossi".

Reverse Inscription IN ARMIS LIBERTAS ET PAX
EdgeInscribed (lettering in relief)Edge InscriptionDOMINUS *** PROVIDEBIT **********
Twenty-five Francs 1959: References to Information Used
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Twenty-five Francs 1959: Details
CountrySwitzerland
CurrencySwiss Franc
Coin TypeTwenty-five Francs, Gold (Pattern)
Issued1959
SymbolSwiss Cross
Face Value25 (x Franc)
Total Mintage5,000,000 (5.0 million), Rarity: R3 (Extremely Rare)
Material0.900 Gold
DesignerBattista Ratti, Remo Rossi
TechnologyMilled (machine-made)
ShapeRound
OrientationCoin Alignment (Axis 6)
Size20.0000 mm
Mass5.6450 g
OCC IDDKLM-OMKC-VQPP-ONZB
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Twenty-five Francs 1959: Photos
ImageDetails
Twenty-five Francs 1959: Photo 25 Francs Gold 1959 / thumbnail 25 Francs Gold 1959
Copyright: Rapp Auction House
Source
Twenty-five Francs 1959: Photo 25 Francs Gold 1959 / thumbnail 25 Francs Gold 1959
Copyright: Rapp Auction House
Source
Twenty-five Francs 1959: Catalogue Reference IDs
SourceReference ID
Krause, Standard Catalog of World CoinsSwitzerland KM# 49