½ Franc (Helvetia, 1964)

What's up plebs?

I figured to take a break from all the German coins I have been sharing lately and visit some other countries...

So today we have this cute little lady

Let's have a closer look:

So today's coin comes from Switzerland, a ½ Franc minted in 1964.

As you can see in the pics above, the obverse features a female figure which is Helvetia, the female national personification of Switzerland. Her name is derived by the Helvetii, a Gaulish tribe inhabiting the Swiss Plateau before the Roman conquest around the 1st century BC. Here's a link to wikipedia if you want to educate yourself more on the symbol.

Btw, if you take a closer look you will notice that she is surrounded by 22 stars, representing the 22 cantons of the Swiss confederation. Well, today they are actually 26 but back in 1964 they were 22:

The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the Waldstätte.

The official number of cantons was increased to 26 in the federal constitution of 1999, which designated former half-cantons as cantons. source and further reading

Ok, let's move on to the reverse side of the coin:

Here we have the minting date and the denomination, inside a wreath made of oak and alpine rose branches.

Nothing special on the reeded edge. Sorry not taking a picture as I'd have to destroy the paper thingie! But it pretty much looks like any other reeded coin.

When it comes to silver, this coin is 2.5 g, of 0.835 purity. That sums up to 2.08 grams of silver. This with today's spot price ($0.78) translates to 1.62 USD.

The fun thing is this coin is still legal tender, worth of 1/2 franc or about 0.56 $. But the melting value is actually three times that :)

A testament to the real value of silver. Sure, not a moon bag. But it's great for retaining and slowly increasing your wealth. This coin is about 60 years old today, wonder how much it will be worth in another 60 years from now!

In case you wonder, 1/2 francs stopped being made of silver in 1967 and next year they were replaced by a Copper-nickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) alloy.

Ok fellow plebs, I guess this is it for today's piece from the stack! I really like this one, cute and small 🥰

See you soon with more silver!

Fun Silver Posts
Enjoyed the post? Here is some more fun silver/monetary content I have written in the past that you might enjoy:

• The country that uses plastic coins!
• The bizarre coins of Cook Islands
• Infographic: What Type of Silver Whale are you?
• My silver pocket piece
• My favorite piece from the stack
• The 10 Million Dollar Coin
• This is where gold really comes from!
• That's one big nugget!
• The Ten Thousand Dollar Bill ?!?!
• Biggest Gold Coin Ever

Posted Using InLeo Alpha