Vreneli | 20 Swiss francs | Gold coin

The most famous gold coin in Switzerland

The Swiss Vreneli is certainly the best-known Swiss gold coin today. The coin was minted from 1897 to 1949 and was the official means of payment as a gold coin in circulation within the Latin Monetary Union. The Vreneli is made of 900 gold, which consists of 90% gold and 10% copper. This gold content is typical of classic commercial gold coins, as pure gold would be too soft.

The gold vreneli usually refers to the 20-franc gold coin, but 10-franc gold vreneli were also minted from 1911 to 1922, as well as a few 100-franc vreneli in 1925.

Motif and name

The obverse of the gold coin is adorned with the Swiss coat of arms with the Swiss cross in the center. Next to the coat of arms is the face value of 20 on the left and the currency franc "FR" on the right. The year of minting is also shown at the bottom edge.

The lapel is adorned with a bust of a woman looking to the left. Her hair braided into a plait and a wreath of edelweiss around her neck, she stands in front of a mountain range in the background. The inscription "Helvetia" is emblazoned above her head, which both titles the allegorical female figure and stands for Switzerland as a whole.

In the vernacular, however, the female figure on the coin is not called Helvetia, but "Vreneli", which explains the name. Vreneli is the typical Swiss-German diminutive of the name Verena.