The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 8, February 20, 2005, Article 15

SWISS COIN AND PAPER MONEY CHANGES ON TAP

"Switzerland's smallest coin, the gold-coloured five-centime
piece, looks set to become history if the official mint in Bern
has its way.

The coin costs more to make than it is worth (4.1 United
States cents) and no one seems to find much of a use for
it anymore.

"There are people who shake their heads when I try to
give them a five-centime coin as change,"commented a
woman cashier at a Coop supermarket.

To put it bluntly, people don't want to accept them
because they don't know how to get rid of them
afterwards.

Vending machines, public telephones, parking meters
and washing machines do not accept them. And anyone
foolhardy enough to leave one for a waiter as a tip is
considered unfriendly in the extreme.

When they first appeared in the summer of 1981, it
was a totally different story, with many people amazed
at how the old silvery coin now glittered with gold thanks
to a higher copper content. But times have changed."

"According to statistics, one in five of the four billion
coins in circulation in Switzerland is a five-centime piece.

The problem is that because people "hoard" them at home
and so withdraw them from circulation, swissmint has to
keep minting more new ones."

"It looks, therefore, as though swissmint will ask the Swiss
government in the near future to give the coin the kiss of
death, although it is not clear exactly what the savings
would be if it were withdrawn from circulation."

"In a related development, the Swiss National Bank (SNB)
has announced it is preparing a new banknote series that
has as its theme"Switzerland open to the world".

A major change is that the focus of the notes should not
be on any individuals, inventions or achievements.
Twelve graphic designers have been asked to submit
their proposals by the end of October.

The central bank says the notes should portray Switzerland
as a platform for dialogue, progress, humanitarian
commitment, exciting experiences, creativity and the search
for practical approaches to solutions within organisations.

The current denominations of SFr10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and
1,000 and the colours of the individual denominations will
be unchanged. However, the size of the notes will be
slightly reduced."

To read the full article, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

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