The Most Expensive: Coins of the Swiss Confederation
A procession of Helvetias: we present the 10 most expensive coins of the Swiss federal state founded in 1848 that were sold at auction.
01_image055835 francs, 1948 commemorative coin, Bern. 100th anniversary of the Swiss constitution. Only 15 gold specimens minted. “The gold issue was distributed to all Swiss citizens that had turned 100 years in 1948, exactly 15 people.” FDC. From SINCONA AG Auction 68 (2020), lot 5583.
02_image0006220 francs 1895, Bern. Gondo gold pattern. Only 19 specimens minted. About FDC. From SINCONA AG auction 5 (2012), lot 62.
03_image035155 francs 1896. 10-20 specimens are known of. PCGS SP63. FDC. From SINCONA AG auction 14 (2013), lot 3515.
04_image0356120 francs 1897, Bern. Gondo gold vreneli pattern. 29 specimens minted, but only far fewer copies are known of today. PCGS SP66. From SINCONA AG auction 14 (2013), lot 3561.
05_image0006910 francs 1911, Bern. “Half vreneli” pattern. “Probably the only specimen in private possession”. FDC, Proof. From SINCONA AG auction 5 (2012), lot 69.
06_image0083320 francs 1897, Bern. Pattern. The popular “forelock vreneli” by Landry that was rejected due to the forelock, which was considered too “frivolous”. 12 specimens minted. From Chaponnière & Firmenich SA auction 7 (2016), lot 833.
07_image005465 francs 1865. Off-metal strike in gold of the shooting taler for the Confederate shooting festival in Schaffhausen. Bern mint. Only 2 specimens minted. PCGS SP64. From Numismatica Genevensis SA auction 10 (2018), Lot 546.
08_image0006020 francs 1887, Bern. Only 176 specimens minted. Circulation coin, no pattern. 5-10 specimens known today. About FDC. From SINCONA AG auction 5 (2012), lot 60.
09_image0005720 francs 1873/1883, Bern. Gold pattern. “The obverse was minted with the regular obverse die of the 1883 20-rappen piece, the reverse with the reverse die of the 1873 20-franc pattern, the so-called Zweipunktprobe (two dot pattern). The only known specimen.“ FDC. Ex Faruk Collection. From SINCONA AG auction 5 (2012), lot 57.
10_image003955 francs 1886, Bern. NGC MS64. Minted with an old die of poor condition, only a few copies were made. Today, five specimens are known of, two of them in private possession. One of the rarest coins of the Confederation. From Numismatica Genevensis SA auction 14 (2021), Lot 395.
As of: 13 June 2022
