- Who
- Federal Mint Swissmint
- What
- 142 years year(s), day(s)
- Where
- Schweiz (Bern)
- When
The oldest coin still in circulation is the 10-centimes coin, produced by Federal Mint Swissmint (Switzerland) since 1879.
The 10 centimes coins minted from 1879 onwards have had the same composition, size, design and are still legal tender and found in circulation. This, 10-centimes coin, is currently the second smallest circulating denomination of the Swiss Franc after the Five Centimes.
The first version of the 10 centimes / rappen coin was designed by Carl Friedrich Voigt of the Munich Mint (then Royal Bavarian Mint). The first version was lighter (2.5 grams) and made of billon (an alloy with a very low quantity of silver). On the obverse it featured the Swiss Coat of Arms, on two oak branches. The reverse shows the value (only a numeral, no text) within a wreath of oak branches.
This version of the 10-centimes coin was issued until 1876 and was demonetised on 30th June 1886.
In 1879 saw the birth of the version still current to this day. The obverse was changed to a design by Karl Schwenzer featuring the effigy of Libertas. The metal was changed to copper-nickel and the coin became slightly heavier (3 grams). The copper-nickel version is still current, and the earliest of these coins are the oldest in the world legal tender still circulating.
