Glossary

Fineness: Indicates the proportion by weight of gold or silver contained in the coin: a gold coin with a fineness of 0.900 contains 90% gold.

Commemorative coin: Souvenir coins that have as their theme an important event, personality or some other subject. The first Swiss commemorative coin was issued in 1936 to mark the successful subscription of the defence bonds.

Medal orientation: The reverse of the coin is the correct way up when turned sideways. For its counterpart ? coin orientation.

Gold parity: State-defined value of a currency unit in grams of fine gold.

Full embodied coin, i.e. the metal value corresponds to the nominal value of the coin at the applicable monetary standard.

Alloy: Material produced by melting together two different metals.

Medal: A coin-like object in metal with no monetary value, generally in the form of a commemorative minting.

Mediation: Period of Swiss history from 1803 until 1813.

Coin: A piece of money; a disc-shaped, state-certified metal piece stamped with an image, assigned a monetary value, also known as the nominal value.

Monetary standard: The figure which indicates how many francs, for example, may be minted from a kilogram of gold.

Prerogative of coinage, right to mint and issue coins. The right of the state to regulate coinage and to utilise the right to mint and issue coins financially.

Numismatics: The study of money. From an academic perspective, numismatics is regarded as a sub-area of history.

Striking: Cold forming of a coin blank between two dies and a ferrule through high pressure. In this way, the negative (recessed and laterally reversed) image of the die is transferred to the coin disc, forming the coin relief upon it.

Minting profit: Difference between the production cost of a coin and its nominal value.

Planchet: Coin blank

Token coin: Coin minted below value (see Full embodied coin).

Blank: Coin blank in the form of a metal disc. Also known as a planchet

Seignorage: Minting profit

Edge lettering: ribbing, inscription, stars etc on the outside edge of the coin. The inscription may be raised or indented.

Edge rimming: Reeding the edge of the coins; facilitates the minting of the rim

Coin orientation: The reverse is upside down when the coin is turned sideways. For its counterpart ? medal orientation

Last modification 03.06.2021

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