Swiss franc

·         Banknotes of the 9th series of 2016

·         Present coins in 1995 mintage

The Swiss franc, also spelled Schweizerfranken in Swiss High German, (Swiss German Schwiizerfranke, French Franc suisse, Italian Franco svizzero, Rhaeto-Romanic Franc svizzer^{? /i}) is the currency of the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein^{. It is} issued by the Swiss National Bank and is divided into 100 centimes (French centimes, Italian centesimi, Rhaeto-Romanic raps). Its abbreviation according to ISO 4217 is CHF, according to Art. 1 MünzV in German Fr. , in the other languages fr. , for centime amounts the abbreviation Rp. (French c. , Italian ct. , Rhaeto-Romanic rp. ) is used for centime amounts. The decimal separator in the currency indication is a point, the currency abbreviation is prefixed (e.g. Fr. 12.35 or CHF 12.35).

Furthermore, the Swiss franc is the official currency in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia. In Büsingen am Hochrhein, the German exclave in Switzerland, payment is predominantly made in Swiss francs, although the euro is legal tender.

Swiss franc outside Switzerland

In 1924, the Swiss franc was also introduced in Liechtenstein, where it replaced the Austrian crown and Liechtenstein emergency money. However, Liechtenstein did not conclude an official currency treaty with Switzerland until June 19, 1980 ("Currency Treaty between the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein").

The official currency of the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia is the Swiss franc. The German exclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein uses the euro as its official currency; however, trading is mostly done with the Swiss franc.

As a reserve currency, the Swiss franc plays a rather minor role.

As several international sports federations have their headquarters in Switzerland, prize money is paid in Swiss francs or fines are imposed in Swiss francs in many sports.

Coins

Circulation coins

Swiss coins are produced by the official Swissmint (formerly the Federal Mint).

The denominations, the diameter, the weight, the edge minting as well as the alloy are determined by the Federal Council (Art. 2 Coinage Ordinance), the FDF defines the tolerance limits regarding dimensions and the alloys.

The following coins are minted to date:

Amount	Image	Motif	Metal	Diameter	Thickness	Mass	Edge embossing	Cost of sales	Nicknames
5 centimes		Libertas head (often interpreted as Helvetia)	92 % Cu, 6 % Al, 2 % Ni	17,15 mm	1,25 mm	1,8 g	smooth	4,22 Rp.	Fünferli, Halbbatzen, Füfi
10 centimes		Libertas head	75 % Cu, 25 % Ni	19,15 mm	1.45 mm	3 g	smooth	6.63 Rp.	Tenner, Batzen, Zähni
20 centime		Libertas head	75 % Cu, 25 % Ni	21.05 mm	1.65 mm	4 g	smooth	8,47 Rp.	Zwanzigerli, Zwänzgerli, Zweibätzler, Zwänzgi
½ Franconia		Standing Helvetia	75 % Cu, 25 % Ni	18,20 mm	1,25 mm	2,2 g	ribbed	7,10 Rp.	Fufzgerli, Füfzgerli, Füfzgi
1 franc		Standing Helvetia	75 % Cu, 25 % Ni	23,20 mm	1.55 mm	4,4 g	ribbed	9.93 Rp.	Ei(n)fränkler
2 francs		Standing Helvetia	75 % Cu, 25 % Ni	27,40 mm	2.15 mm	8,8 g	ribbed	19,40 Rp.	Two-franc
5 francs		Alphirt (often interpreted as William Tell)	75 % Cu, 25 % Ni	31.45 mm	2.35 mm	13,2 g	★★★ DOMINUS PROVIDEBIT ★★★★★★★★★★ (deepened embossed from 1985 to 1993, otherwise prominent).	36.30 Rp.	Fünfliber, Fünffränkler, Göttibatzen, Schnägg

The edge is plain on 5, 10 and 20 centimes, ribbed on ½, 1 and 2 francs, and starred and inscribed "DOMINUS PROVIDEBIT" on 5 francs. The German translation of the Latin inscription is: Der Herr wird vorsorgen. This is a biblical quotation from the story of the sacrifice of Isaac.

Out of course are set and are no longer minted the single and double beater.

The country name is indicated on all coins as "Confoederatio Helvetica", the Latin name of the Swiss Confederation, or "Helvetia".

The oldest coins still in circulation today are the 10-centime coins from 1879. Of all the circulation coins in the world, they are by far the oldest to be produced to this day with the same motif and alloy.

The 2-franc coins have been minted - as the oldest - in the same motif since 1874 until today. However, the issues up to 1967 were withdrawn due to their silver alloy (today: cupro-nickel), as the silver alloy exceeded the nominal value. The same thing happened at the same time with all coin denominations from 50 centimes upwards (exception: in 1969 there were again 5-franc coins made of silver). Coins worth around 350 million Swiss francs were melted down in Switzerland and abroad during this period. Since 2004, the 10 (1932-1939) and 20 centime (1881-1938) coins made of pure nickel have also been withdrawn from circulation because vending machines cannot recognize them.

Today, all coins except the 5-centime coin (aluminum bronze since 1981) are alloyed in cupronickel.

The single-coupon piece, which had long ceased to play a role in payment transactions and whose production costs most recently amounted to 11 centimes, was withdrawn from circulation on January 1, 2007. The two-centime piece, which was minted until 1974, was taken out of circulation as early as 1978. At the same time as the single-coupon coin was abolished, the abolition of the five-coupon coin was also discussed. Since most of the reactions to this were negative and, among other things, a price increase was feared, these plans were dropped.

Commemorative coins

Switzerland has issued commemorative coins occasionally since 1936 and annually since 1974. Until 1991, these were five-franc coins, which were identical in technical specifications to the circulation coins and were valid for circulation, even though they were rarely encountered in payment transactions. Today, nominals of 10 francs (bimetal), 20 francs (20 g silver-copper alloy) and 50 francs (11.29 g gold-copper alloy, sold only above face value) are minted. Their face value is guaranteed by law, but they are not authorized for general payment transactions.

The "Currency Treaty Switzerland - Liechtenstein" of 1981 allows Liechtenstein, with the approval of the Federal Department of Finance (FDF), to mint its own coins and put them into circulation. This allows Liechtenstein to mint commemorative coins for special occasions. For example, two types of coins with a nominal value of 10 and 50 francs were minted for the 200th anniversary of the Principality's sovereignty in 2006. However, these are only valid as means of payment in Liechtenstein.

10 centime coin from 1879


Liechtenstein 10 franc gold coin from 1946 commemorating Prince Franz Josef II, 2.90 g fine gold, minted according to the standard of the Latin Mint Union

Banknotes

Banknotes were first issued by commercial and cantonal banks; in 1907, the newly founded Swiss National Bank (SNB), as the central bank, was given the sole right to issue banknotes (note monopoly). The first series (interim notes), which was introduced immediately, was still based on designs from abroad, supplemented by Swiss national emblems. In 1909, Orell Füssli printed trial banknotes for the SNB, which were produced by several printers on the basis of domestic designs and introduced by the SNB as a second series from 1911. In the 1970s, with the sixth series, Orell Füssli's security printing department became the sole printer for all Swiss banknotes. The production costs of the 8th series amounted to around 30 centimes per banknote.

Liechtenstein has never issued banknotes in Swiss francs and has no right to do so under the current Swiss-Liechtenstein Currency Treaty.

Tabular overview

Series	Introduction	Recall	exchangeable until	Designer	Comments
1.	1907	01.07.1925	01.07.1945	Josef Storck and Albert Walch	Transition Notes
2.	1911	01.10.1958	01.10.1978	Eugène Burnand, Ferdinand Hodler and S. Balzer	the 5-franc note was recalled only in 1980 and lost its validity in 2000
3.	1918–1930	1925/1956	1945/1976	Orell Füssli	so-called war notes, only 2 notes issued
4.	(1938)	- —	- —	Victor Surbek and Hans Erni	Reserve series, never been in circulation
5.	1956–1957	01.05.1980	01.05.2000	Pierre Gauchat and Hermann Eidenbenz
6.	1976–1979	01.05.2000	Unlimited	Ernst and Ursula Hiestand
7.	(1984)	- —	- —	Elisabeth and Roger Pound	Reserve series, never been in circulation
8.	1995–1998	30.04.2021	Unlimited	Jörg Zintzmeyer	replaced by the 9th series
9.	2016–2019		Unlimited	Manuela Pfrunder	circulating

In each case, the banknotes are valid as legal tender until they are recalled, after which they can be exchanged at their face value at the Swiss National Bank. There were different time limits for this. In 1921, a period of 20 years from recall was introduced. From the 6th series onwards, the banknotes no longer lose their value, but can be exchanged for an unlimited period.

Validity period of the banknotes

Since 2020, all banknotes from the sixth banknote series of 1976 onwards can be exchanged at the SNB at face value for an unlimited period of time, even after they have been recalled. Until the end of 2019, the rule was that after the issue of the last note value of a new series, the Swiss National Bank announced the recall of the old series in each case. After that, the banknotes could still be exchanged at the SNB at par value for a period of twenty years, after which the notes were worthless.

In April 2017, the Swiss Federal Council, in agreement with the Swiss National Bank, proposed to abolish the exchange deadline for old banknotes. The Swiss Council of States did not initially follow this proposal, as this would have meant that the cantons would have had to forgo revenue. Until then, the SNB paid the equivalent value of the notes that were not exchanged into the Swiss Fund for Assistance in the Event of Uninsurable Natural Disasters (Fondssuisse). However, the Council of States proposed that only one-fifth of this should go to the fund, with the remainder distributed one-third to the federal government and two-thirds to the cantons. In June 2019, the Council of States relented, so that since then banknotes from the sixth series onwards can be exchanged for an unlimited period of time - as in many other countries. The revision of the law came into force on January 1, 2020 (Art. 9 par. 3 and 4 WZG).

Banknote series

All note illustrations of all series below are to scale with each other.

First series from 1907

The first series consisted of the notes: 50, 100, 500 and 1000. The banknote for 1000 francs was a very high value by the standards of the time. According to today's purchasing power, it would correspond to a banknote worth 11,800 francs. The notes were issued in 1907 when the National Bank was founded as "interim notes" (interimsnoten), since there was too little time between the founding of the National Bank and the note issue to create new notes. 1st issue: 20 June 1907, recall: 1 July 1925, valid until: 30 June 1945.

The copper plates were made by Bradbury Wilkinson and Company in London, the letterpress and numbering was done by Stämpfli & Co. and the copperplate printing was done by Benziger in Einsiedeln.

Amount	Front	Back	Portrait	Motif	Formatin millimeters	Date of issue
Fr. 50			Helvetia	Ornaments	103 × 166	20 June 1907
Fr. 100			Helvetia	Ornaments	116 × 183	20 June 1907
Fr. 500			Helvetia	Ornaments	126 × 199	20 June 1907
Fr. 1000			Helvetia	Ornaments	132 × 215	20 June 1907

Second series from 1911

The second series of 1911 consisted of the 5, 10, 20, 40, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 notes. The series was valid for more than 67 years, but the 10 and 40 notes were never in circulation. 1st issue: September 16, 1911, recall: October 1, 1958, valid until: September 30, 1978. The 5 note was not recalled until May 1, 1980 and was valid until April 30, 2000.

The 1000, 500, 100, 50 and 10 notes were printed at Waterlow in London. The 40, 20 and 5 note were printed by Orell Füssli.

Amount	Front	Back	Portrait	Motif	Formatin millimeters	Date of issue
Fr. 5			William Tell	Ornaments, rosette	72 × 125	August 3, 1914
Fr. 10			Neuchâtel	Ornaments, rosette	82 × 135	-(Reserve Note)
Fr. 20			Vreneli	Ornaments, rosette	95 × 163	July 31, 1914
Fr. 40			Arnold Winkelried	Ornaments, rosette	82 × 144	-(Reserve Note)
Fr. 50			Woman head in medallion	Woodcutter (Ferdinand Hodler)	106 × 165	December 22, 1911
Fr. 100			Woman head in medallion	Mower (Ferdinand Hodler)	115 × 181	September 16, 1911
Fr. 500			Woman head in medallion	Hand embroiderers (Eugène Burnand)	125 × 200	December 24, 1912
Fr. 1000			Woman head in medallion	Foundry (Eugène Burnand)	131 × 216	September 16, 1911

Third series from 1918

The third series consisted of several notes created during the years 1918 to 1930 as "war notes". It consists of three different 20 notes and two different 100 notes, of which only one was issued at a time.

The 100 note issued was recalled as early as July 1, 1925, and became worthless on July 1, 1945. The 20 note was recalled on April 1, 1956 and became worthless on April 1, 1976.

Amount	Front	Back	Portrait	Motif	Formatin millimeters	Date of issue
Fr. 20			Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi	Swiss cross	86 × 143	July 15, 1930
Fr. 20			Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi	Swiss cross	86 × 143	- – (reserve note)
Fr. 20			Freiburg	Ornaments and rosette	88 × 141	-(Reserve Note)
Fr. 100			William Tell	Ornaments, rosette and virgin massif	115 × 180	September 27, 1918
Fr. 100			William Tell	Ornaments, rosette and virgin massif	115 × 180	-(Reserve Note)

Fourth series from 1938

The fourth series consisted of the notes 50, 100, 500 and 1000. It was a reserve series printed by Orell Füssli. It was never issued. For the 500 note, it remained a proof. The 50, 500 and 1000 notes were designed by Hans Erni, the 100 note by Victor Surbek.

Amount	Front	Back	Portrait	Motif	Formatin millimeters	Date of issue
Fr. 50			Woman head in medallion	Taurus	96 × 167	- –
Fr. 100			Haslital woman in medallion	Guilloche and value digit	106 × 190	- –
Fr. 500			Woman head in medallion	Chemistry	116 × 210	- –
Fr. 1000			Woman head in medallion	Turbine	125 × 228	- –

Fifth series from 1956

The fifth series consisted of the notes 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000. 1st issue: staggered from March 29, 1956, recall: May 1, 1980, valid until: April 30, 2000.

The 10 and 20 notes were designed by Hermann Eidenbenz and printed by Orell Füssli in Zurich, the higher-value notes were designed by Pierre Gauchat and printed by Waterlow and De La Rue respectively.

Amount	Front	Back	Portrait	Motif	Formatin millimeters	Date of issue
Fr. 10			Gottfried Keller	Clove Root	75 × 137	October 1, 1956
Fr. 20			Henri Dufour	Silver Thistle	85 × 155	March 29, 1956
Fr. 50			Girl head	Apple harvest	95 × 173	June 14, 1957
Fr. 100			Boy's Head	St. Martin	105 × 191	June 14, 1957
Fr. 500			Woman head	Fountain of youth	115 × 210	June 14, 1957
Fr. 1000			Woman head	Dance of Death	125 × 228	June 14, 1957

Sixth series from 1976

The sixth series was designed by Ernst and Ursula Hiestand and printed by Orell Füssli in Zurich. It consisted of note denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 Swiss francs. The banknotes were issued on a staggered basis starting October 4, 1976, and were recalled on May 1, 2000. The notes can be exchanged without restriction at the Swiss National Bank at full face value.

Amount	Front	Back	Portrait	Motif	Formatin millimeters	Date of issue
Fr. 10			Leonhard Euler	A water turbine, our solar system and the ray path in a lens system	66 × 137	November 5, 1979
Fr. 20			Horace-Bénédict de Saussure	A mountain landscape, a group of mountaineers (probably after a work by Henri L'Evêque CH-NB - Monsieur Desaussure son fils & ses guides arivant au glacier du Tacul au grand Géant où ils ont habité 17 Jours Sous des Tentes en Juillet 1788 - Graphics Views of Places and Landscapes - GS-GRAF-ANSI-F-39.tif) and ammonites	70 × 148	April 4, 1979
Fr. 50			Conrad Gessner	an owl, a primrose and stars	74 × 159	October 4, 1978
Fr. 100			Francesco Borromini	The steeple and floor plan of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza	78 × 170	October 4, 1976
Fr. 500			Albrecht von Haller	A schematic representation of breathing and a muscle figure	82 × 181	April 4, 1978
Fr. 1000			Auguste Forel	Three ants and the vertical section through an anthill	86 × 192	April 4, 1978

Seventh series from 1984

It was designed in the 1980s and formed the reserve series. The appearance and data of these banknotes were not intended for the public (so-called secret reserve). The notes of this series would have been used in case the notes currently in circulation were counterfeited en masse. This was the last reserve series. Instead of a reserve series, the security system was continuously developed for the eighth series. In the meantime, the appearance of the seventh series has also been published. On this series, the same people are depicted (albeit from other designs) as on the sixth series, with the exception of Auguste Forel, who was replaced by Louis Agassiz.

Amount	Front	Back	Portrait	Motif	Formatin millimeters	Date of issue
Fr. 10			Leonhard Euler	The gamma function, our solar system and a table of numbers	66 × 137	No output
Fr. 20			Horace-Bénédict de Saussure	A hygrometer and the Montblanc	70 × 148	No output
Fr. 50			Conrad Gessner	A golden eagle, an animal metamorphosis and a Latin text	74 × 159	No output
Fr. 100			Francesco Borromini	The floor plan of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, the spire of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza and a peace dove	78 × 170	No output
Fr. 500			Albrecht von Haller	An anatomy chart from the 18th century and an X-ray of the human ribcage	82 × 181	No output
Fr. 1000			Louis Agassiz	The head and skeleton of a perch	86 × 192	No output

Eighth series from 1995

The eighth series of banknotes, which was introduced from 1995, comprises six denominations featuring portraits of Swiss cultural figures, a significant proportion of whom had worked abroad. The notes were issued between 1995 and 1998 and were recalled as of April 30, 2021. The notes can be exchanged without restriction at the Swiss National Bank at full face value.

Amount	Front	Back	Portrait	Motif	Formatin millimeters	Date of issue
Fr. 10			Le Corbusier (Architect)	Floor plan of the government quarter of the Indian city Chandigarh	74 × 126	April 8, 1997
Fr. 20			Arthur Honegger (composer)	Pacific 231	74 × 137	October 1, 1996
Fr. 50			Sophie Taeuber-Arp (visual artist)	Tête Dada, 1919	74 × 148	October 3, 1995
Fr. 100			Alberto Giacometti (visual artist)	L'Homme qui marche I	74 × 159	October 1, 1998
Fr. 200			Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz (writer)	Lac de Derborence/Diablerets, Lavaux	74 × 170	October 1, 1997
Fr. 1000			Jacob Burckhardt (art historian)	Palazzo Strozzi, Florence (detail of the facade)	74 × 181	April 1, 1998

These notes replaced the previous series from 1995 to 1998. The issue of a 500-franc banknote was dispensed with, but a new 200-franc banknote was introduced.

Ninth series of 2016

The ninth banknote series was introduced in stages from April 2016 to September 2019. The design competition was won by Manuel Krebs, however runner-up Manuela Pfrunder was commissioned to continue her design. The date for the introduction was originally planned for fall 2010. In order to have more time for the development of new security technologies, the date was initially postponed to 2012, as there was still no security deficiency in the current banknote series. In February 2012, the SNB announced a further delay of at least one year due to technical problems.

However, the issue date was changed again at the end of 2012; the rollout is now scheduled to take place between April 2016 and 2019.

The first to be presented to the public at a media conference on April 6, 2016, and issued from April 12, 2016, was the new 50 note, which was voted the most beautiful note of 2016 by the International Banknote Society. The other notes were put into circulation at intervals of half a year or a whole year.

Amount	Front	Back	Motif	Formatin millimeters	Date of issue
Fr. 10			Time, the organizing side of Switzerland: Front: a pair of female hands with baton conducts the beat; kaleidoscope pattern: dials; the globe around the date line: end of day (Pacific, Bering Strait), time zones are marked; security strip: The Swiss railroad network is shown on the security strip, also the longest railroad tunnels in Switzerland are listed in kilometers. Reverse side: joining of two tracks by means of a split switch in the Lötschberg base tunnel; Clockwork: represents a well-functioning organization; The lines are sketches of the Swiss, the Austrian and parts of the Hungarian railroad network.	70 × 123	October 18, 2017
Fr. 20			Light, the creative side of Switzerland: Front: a boyish right hand holds a prism into a beam of light, causing the light to fan out into different colors; kaleidoscope pattern: the background of the note is reminiscent of looking through a kaleidoscope, where colorful effects are created by the reflection of light; globe four hours earlier (Pacific Ocean, North America), above which the light is reflected in constellations; security strip: A map of Switzerland and surrounding regions shows light emissions at night, and the distance of various celestial bodies from Earth is listed in light seconds. Reverse: A light projection onto the large movie screen on the Piazza Grande in Locarno during the Locarno Film Festival; Butterfly: The light makes it possible to experience the colors of the butterfly and the multifaceted nature; The lines on the reverse of the 20 note show an iris, which regulates the incidence of light into the human eye.	70 × 130	May 17, 2017
Fr. 50			Wind, the eventful side of Switzerland: Front: a left hand holds a ripe dandelion flower into the wind, and it blows achenes away; background design: wind arrows; globe another four hours earlier (Atlantic, North and South America) and the wind arrows on the globe show the directions of the winds connecting Switzerland with other regions and continents; safety strip: The Alpine massif is shown on the safety strip, and the main peaks of the Swiss Alps above 4000 meters above sea level are listed by name, from A for Aletschhorn to Z for Zumsteinspitze. Reverse: Air currents flow around glacial Alpine peaks and lead to updrafts or downdrafts; paragliders; altitude curves illustrate the varied landscape of Switzerland.	70 × 137	April 12, 2016
Fr. 100			Water, the humanitarian side of Switzerland: Front: A pair of hands, making a cupped hand, holds out water; globe another four hours earlier (Atlantic, Europe, Africa, Middle East). Several rivers are listed with their length. Reverse: Water flows along a vertical, but still vegetated rock face in the dry Valais; Suonen	70 × 144	September 12, 2019
Fr. 200			Matter, the scientific side of Switzerland: Front: a right hand indicates the three dimensions with thumb, index finger and middle finger (see three-finger rule); globe another four hours earlier (Indian Ocean, Africa, Europe, Middle East, Russia, Asia). Back: Particles flowing through a particle detector of the LHC at CERN in Geneva; particle collision graphic	70 × 151	August 22, 2018
Fr. 1000			Language, the communicative side of Switzerland: Front: two hands extended in greeting; globe another four hours earlier: start of day (Indian Ocean, Asia, Australia, Pacific). Reverse: Speeches are made in one of the national languages during the United Federal Assembly of the Federal Councils in the Federal Palace in Bern; graphic of a network of relations	70 × 158	March 13, 2019

Anti-counterfeiting

The current ninth series banknotes are among the most counterfeit-proof in the world. They have up to 18 different security features to make counterfeiting virtually impossible. The paper produced by Landqart is made from by-products of cotton processing (so-called linters).

Specimen

If Swiss banknotes are reproduced, for example for use as test samples, play money or for advertising purposes, the imprint "SPECIMEN" (German: "Probe"/"sample") is mandatory on the Swiss franc bills, with the length of the word representing at least 75% of the banknote and the width 15%. The imprint may be omitted if it can be clearly distinguished from genuine notes by other features (such as size, etc.).

The 1000-franc note as "most expensive note

The 1000 franc banknote has been issued by the Swiss National Bank since the first series (1907). It has always been a banknote of exceptionally high value. In 1907, for example, the 1000-franc note had a present-day value, adjusted for inflation, of 11,800 francs.

Of the better-known currencies or reserve currencies, the 1,000-franc bill is by far the banknote in regular circulation worldwide with the highest value or purchasing power, measured by the exchange rate to other currencies. For example, the current value of the highest euro banknote still in regular circulation is EUR 500 (= approx. CHF 550), the highest US dollar bill still in regular circulation is US$ 100 (= approx. CHF 92), the highest pound sterling note issued by the Bank of England is GBP 50 (= approx. CHF 64) or the highest Japanese yen note is JPY 10,000 (= approx. CHF 83).

Taking all currencies into account, the 1,000-franc bill is the banknote in regular circulation worldwide with the second-highest value or purchasing power, after the 10,000-Brunei dollar note (approx. 6800 francs). If banknotes no longer issued and no longer in regular circulation but still valid are taken into account, there are "more expensive" banknotes in several other currencies, e.g. a 10,000 Singapore dollar note exists, but has not been issued since 2014. In the case of the U.S. dollar, bills with denominations of US$1,000, US$5,000, and US$10,000 were issued until 1945 and recalled in 1967, but they remain legal tender. Also printed, never in circulation, but legal tender is a note with a value of US$100,000.

With the advent of electronic payments, the economic need for banknotes with very high value / purchasing power decreased. Despite this, the circulation of the 1,000-franc note has risen steadily in recent years: While there were 20 million "thousands" in circulation in 2004, there were already 38 million in 2014. Presumably, the 1000-franc note is increasingly used for the physical storage of assets in safe deposit boxes or outside financial institutions by people who distrust banks, want to avoid negative interest rates or who - illegally - do not want to pay taxes on their assets. In the criminal environment, too, especially in the case of organized crime, cash is preferred both for handling sometimes extremely costly transactions (e.g. drug trafficking) and as an investment, for which the 1,000-franc note seems particularly suitable. Since the Swiss franc is also considered a safe currency, the note is also attractive to foreign (non-Swiss) criminals. For the purpose of combating namely money laundering, terror financing and drug trafficking, the 500-euro bill was abolished in April 2019. There have also been isolated calls for this in Switzerland. However, as the Swiss are considered to be particularly cash-savvy and the effectiveness in fighting crime is questionable, there are no concrete intentions to abolish the 1000-franc bill; on the contrary, on March 13, 2019, just 2 months before the abolition of the 500-euro bill, the Swiss National Bank issued the 1000-franc bill for the first time in the current, 9th banknote series

Parallel to the 1000-franc bill as the "most expensive" banknote, the five-franc piece is one of the "most expensive" exchange coins.

Banknotes in circulation

In 2017, the average banknotes in circulation amounted to 76,507,131,570 Swiss francs. This sum was spread over a total of 449,531,533 banknotes. The highest share in terms of value was accounted for by the 1000 Swiss franc note with 47,313,516,000 Swiss francs (61.8%). This indicates that a large proportion of cash is used as a store of value outside payment transactions. In terms of number of units, the 100-franc note was the most frequently encountered: There were 125,486,986 100-franc banknotes in circulation, representing 27.9% of the total number of Swiss banknotes.

Colloquial terms

The franc is often called Stutz in the colloquial language, the dialects of German-speaking Switzerland. There are various explanations for this; for example, a famous mintmaster in Fürth at that time who came from Switzerland was called Conrad Stutz. According to another interpretation, Stutz, stutzen or verstutzen used to mean "exchange", "trade" or "squander". Another casual word is Stein (Swiss German Stei). For the colloquial names for the coins, see the table in the section on circulation coins.

In the French-speaking world, the colloquial term for the franc is balle (plural: balles), which was also common in France for the French franc.

See also

• Goldvreneli