The Zweifränkler
Since 1874, the two franc coin is unchanged and has the same motif. This shows on the reverse side of the coin, portrayed surrounded by 23 five-pointed stars, a standing Helvetia with shield and spear. It was designed by Jean François Bovy. A remarkable fact is that a two-franc coin always weighs as much as two one-franc coins or four fifty-cent coins.
The Fünfliber
The first Swiss five-franc coins were minted in 1850. In 1922 the current motif, designed by Paul Burkhard, was introduced. It shows on the reverse side of the coin. a herdsmen who is often interpreted by the local population as William Tell. After the Latin Monetary Union was dissolved and coins no longer had to be covered by their weight and value in precious metals,, the size of Fünfliber was set at 31 mm in 1931.
Jean François Antoine Bovy (1799 – 1877) was a Geneva medalist, who invented an embossing mechanism with which he could make medals in hitherto unknown quantities. He is the designer of the first Swiss currency coins. His name is engraved on the two-franc coin “Zweifränkler”.
