VRENELLI, 20 SWISS FRANCS IN GOLD
The Vrenelli 20 Swiss franc gold coin is one of the most classic and emblematic pieces in the world of collecting and investment. It has contributed to the fact that Switzerland has always been a neutral country since its creation by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and this has always been synonymous with stability and economic strength, also due to its practice of backing its currency with gold.
These pieces, 21 mm in diameter and 1.25 mm thick, weigh 6.45 grams of 900 thousandths gold (21.6 carats), have an acceptable gold content of 5.805 grams (0.1866 Troy ounces), and were minted at the Bern National Mint (Mintmark B) between 1897 and 1935. Later coins of this type were also minted in 1947 and 1949. During all these years, a total of approximately 58,634,296 pieces were issued.
Most of the Vrenelli coins are sold at their gold value, although there are years in which they have higher prices for collectors and numismatists due to their low mintage. The years with the smallest mintage (100,000 pieces) are 1904, 1905, 1906, and 1926 (the latter year, with an issue of only 50,000 pieces, is probably the most challenging coin of the entire series to obtain).
The obverse features a beautiful bust of Vrenelli, the revered Miss Swiss of national folklore, with braided hair and a garland of flowers (Edelweiss), against a backdrop of the Swiss Alps. Above her head, and following the outline of the coin, appears the word Helvetia, the Latin name for Switzerland. Below the bust, the name of the designer F. Landry (Fritz Ulysse Landry) appears. On the reverse, next to the date of the piece and the denomination of 20 francs, is the coat of arms of Switzerland, its famous Greek cross inserted in a shield, framed in turn by two oak branches taped together.
As for the edge of these pieces, they varied over the years. On the 20 Swiss franc piece of 1883, the edge is striated. On those minted between 1886 and 1896, the legend on the edge is Dominus Providebit (God will provide), interspersed between 13 stars (DOMINUS XXX PROVIDEBIT XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX). On the pieces minted between 1897 and 1935 L-B, the legend is the same, but altering the order of the words with the stars (DOMINUS XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX PROVIDEBIT). Those minted in 1947 and 1949 bear the legend Ad Legem Anni MCMXXXXXI (To the Law of the year 1931).
In the 1935 issue, 175,000 Vrenelli 20 franc coins were minted. However, in order to meet the great demand for these coins in the post-war years, 20,008,813 coins were minted in 1945 with the date L-1935-B, followed by 9,200,000 coins in 1947 and 10,000,000 in 1949, the latter two only with the mintmark B (1949-B).
As a result of the great world economic crisis of 1929, many European countries devalued their currency. When France did so in 1936, the financial situation in Switzerland became critical. On September 27 of the same year, the Swiss Federal Council decided to devalue the franc by 30%.
The parity of the franc went from 290 mg of fine gold per franc to 215 mg, and the Swiss National Bank was exempted from the obligation to exchange its banknotes for gold. As a result of the devaluation and consequent depreciation of the Swiss franc, the 20-franc gold piece became worth 28 francs. The Vrenelli thus disappeared entirely from circulation and was hoarded by the general population.
In 1945, Switzerland joined the agreements adopted at Bretton Woods, fixing the Swiss franc to the dollar at an exchange rate of 4.302 francs. Subsequently, this rate changed to 4.375 francs to the dollar in 1949. In March 2008, the Swiss franc acquired parity with the dollar for the first time.
Let us recall here that Switzerland initially belonged with France, Italy, and Belgium to the so-called Latin Monetary Union, created at the initiative of France in 1865, which tried to unify several European currencies into a single one that could be used in all member states. Greece formally joined in 1968 and Spain also adopted the rules of this Monetary Union that same year, when the peseta was created as the national monetary unit. However, it did not formally join the Latin Monetary Union at any time. The Latin Monetary Union was formally dissolved in 1927.
Dr. Jose Vte. Alcocer Ferrer
José Vicente Alcocer Ferrer is a leading numismatist known for his contributions to coin collecting. He has written several articles on numismatics, including topics such as coins from the Russian and Japanese occupations in Korea, and the 50 Mexican pesos. His work has been published in specialized magazines.
