½ Franc Helvetia standing; silver
Features
| Issuer | Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Period |
Federal State (1848-date)
|
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Years | 1875-1967 |
| Value | ½ Franc (0.5 CHF) |
| Currency | Franc (1850-date) |
| Composition | Silver (.835) (16.5% copper) |
| Weight | 2.5 g |
| Diameter | 18.2 mm |
| Thickness | 1.28 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Technique | Milled |
| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
| Demonetized | 1 April 1971 |
| Number |
N# 180
Numista type number (https://en.numista.com/help/what-is-the-n-number-visible-in-the-catalogue-33.html)
|
| References |
HMZ 2# 1206,  Jürg Richter, Ruedi Kunzmann; 2006. Der neue HMZ-Katalog / Band. 2. Die Münzen der Schweiz und Liechtensteins : 15./16. Jahrhundert bis Gegenwart. Battenberg Gietl Verlag, Regenstauf, Germany.  Jean-Paul Divo, Edwin Tobler; 1967. Die Münzen der Schweiz im 19. Und 20. Jahrhundert. Bank Leu AG, Zürich, Switzerland.  Tracy L. Schmidt (editor); 2019. Standard Catalog of World Coins / 2001-Date (14th edition). Krause Publications, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States. And 5 more volumes.  Gerhard Schön; 2022. Weltmünzkatalog / 20. Jahrhundert: 1901-2000 (47. Auflage). Battenberg Gietl Verlag, Regenstauf, Germany. And 2 more volumes.  Richard S. Yeoman, Arthur L. Friedberg; 2007. A Catalog of Modern World Coins : 1850-1964 (14th edition). Whitman Publishing Company, Atlanta, United States. And 1 more volumes. |
Series: Helvetia standing series
Obverse
Full-length figure of Helvetia, standing, facing left, wearing toga, holding a spear in right hand, and supporting shield with coat of arms of Switzerland with left hand. 22 stars around, representing the 22 cantons of the Swiss confederation.
Script: Latin
Lettering:
HELVETIA
A. BOVY INCᵀ.
Translation:
Antoine Bovy incidit.
Engraved by Antoine Bovy.
Engraver:
Antoine Bovy 
Antoine Bovy, born in Geneva on 14 December 1795 and died in the same town on 18 September 1877, is a Swiss sculptor and medalist naturalized French.
Designer:
Albert Walch
Albert Walch (born 10 October 1816 in Augsburg, died 25 March 1882 in Bern) was a German painter who worked in Bern. Albert Walch was the son of the painter and publisher Johann Sebastian Walch (1787–1840). He received his training from 1833 at the Munich Art Academy with Peter von Cornelius. He then worked at his father's or brother Adolf Walch's (1815–1886) publishing house until he went to Rome from 1847 to 1849. From 1849 he lived in Bern, where he also worked as a teacher at the art school from 1871 until his death. He painted portraits, history and genre pictures, designed festive decorations, coins and handicrafts. The designs for the standing Helvetia and the head of Helvetia for the Swiss coins are his best known to this day.
Reverse
Wreath formed of oak and alpine rose branches tied with a ribbon below.
Script: Latin
Lettering:
½ Fr.
1878
B
Engraver:
Antoine Bovy
Antoine Bovy, born in Geneva on 14 December 1795 and died in the same town on 18 September 1877, is a Swiss sculptor and medalist naturalized French.Designer: Albert Wach
Edge
Reeded.
© Walter_Scott
Mint
| B | Bern, Switzerland (1225-date) |
Comments
In 1967, the price of silver soared steeply, reaching 260 francs per kilogram in August and 350 francs per kilogram in March 1968. At this time, the melt value of the 1/2 franc pieces was circa 0.73 francs. Switzerland started to experience a severe shortage of cash, especially in the north, where people were illegally exporting coins to Germany to be melted. In spite of strict measures against hoarding and melting coins, it is estimated that around 100 tonnes of silver in 1/2, 1 and 2 franc coins were melted. The crisis concluded in 1968, when the Swiss mint started to mint coins in a copper-nickel alloy at full capacity, around 1.5 million coins per day. The coins were released on 10 May 1968 and the old silver coins were withdrawn on 1 April 1971.
See also
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| Date | Mintage | G | VG | F | VF | XF | AU | UNC | Frequency | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undetermined | |||||||||||||
| 1875 B | 1 000 000 | $ 13 | $ 22 | 2% | |||||||||
| 1875 B | 0.08% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1877 B | 1 000 000 | $ 11 | 1.8% | ||||||||||
| 1877 B | 0.07% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1878 B | 1 000 000 | $ 19 | 2.0% | ||||||||||
| 1878 B | 0.07% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1879 B | 1 000 000 | $ 7.60 | 1.8% | ||||||||||
| 1879 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1881 B | 1 000 000 | $ 6.00 | $ 6.00 | $ 6.00 | 3% | ||||||||
| 1881 B | 0.08% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1882 B | 1 000 000 | $ 7.80 | $ 8.50 | 2% | |||||||||
| 1882 B | 0.07% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1894 A | 800 000 | $ 13 | $ 13 | 1.6% | |||||||||
| 1894 B | 0.07% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1896 B | 28 | 0.18% | Specimen | ||||||||||
| 1898 B | 1 600 000 | $ 1.10 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.20 | $ 3.30 | 6% | |||||||
| 1898 B | 0.12% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1899 B | 400 000 | $ 3.00 | $ 4.40 | $ 5.40 | 2% | ||||||||
| 1899 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1900 B | 400 000 | $ 4.90 | 2% | ||||||||||
| 1900 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1901 B | 200 000 | 1.5% | |||||||||||
| 1901 B | 0.07% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1903 B | 800 000 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.40 | $ 3.80 | 4% | ||||||||
| 1903 B | 0.07% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1904 B | 400 000 | $ 2.20 | $ 4.90 | $ 5.10 | 3% | ||||||||
| 1904 B | 0.07% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1905 B | 600 000 | $ 3.70 | $ 3.70 | $ 4.30 | 4% | ||||||||
| 1905 B | 0.10% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1906 B | 1 000 000 | $ 2.30 | $ 2.30 | $ 3.10 | 5% | ||||||||
| 1906 B | 0.08% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1907 B | 1 200 000 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.50 | $ 3.30 | 6% | ||||||||
| 1907 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1908 B | 800 000 | $ 2.90 | $ 3.30 | $ 4.40 | 5% | ||||||||
| 1908 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1909 B | 1 000 000 | $ 3.10 | $ 3.70 | $ 3.80 | 5% | ||||||||
| 1909 B | 0.15% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1910 B | 1 000 000 | $ 3.60 | $ 4.30 | 5% | |||||||||
| 1910 B | 0.07% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1913 B | 800 000 | $ 2.50 | $ 3.30 | $ 3.30 | 4% | ||||||||
| 1913 B | 0.08% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1914 B | 2 000 000 | $ 2.00 | $ 2.00 | $ 3.40 | 7% | ||||||||
| 1914 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1916 B | 800 000 | $ 2.90 | $ 3.40 | 4% | |||||||||
| 1916 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1920 B | 5 400 000 | $ 1.20 | $ 2.70 | $ 3.50 | $ 3.50 | 14% | |||||||
| 1920 B | 0.18% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1921 B | 6 000 000 | $ 2.10 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.80 | $ 3.10 | 15% | |||||||
| 1921 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1928 B | 1 000 000 | $ 4.00 | $ 5.50 | 4% | |||||||||
| 1928 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1929 B | 2 000 000 | $ 2.10 | $ 2.10 | $ 2.70 | $ 5.30 | 7% | |||||||
| 1929 B | 0.08% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1931 B | 1 000 000 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.70 | 4% | |||||||||
| 1931 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1932 B | 1 000 000 | $ 3.00 | $ 3.30 | 4% | |||||||||
| 1932 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1934 B | 2 000 000 | $ 2.20 | $ 3.00 | $ 4.00 | 6% | ||||||||
| 1934 B | 0.07% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1936 B | 400 000 | $ 3.00 | $ 4.90 | 2% | |||||||||
| 1936 B | 0.07% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1937 B | 1 000 000 | $ 2.20 | $ 3.20 | 4% | |||||||||
| 1937 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1939 B | 1 001 000 | $ 4.90 | $ 4.90 | 4% | |||||||||
| 1939 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1940 B | 2 002 000 | $ 1.90 | $ 2.90 | $ 3.30 | 7% | ||||||||
| 1940 B | 0.15% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1941 B | 200 000 | $ 1.50 | $ 4.90 | $ 6.50 | 4% | ||||||||
| 1941 B | 0.08% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1942 B | 2 969 000 | $ 1.50 | $ 3.00 | $ 3.30 | $ 3.30 | 7% | |||||||
| 1942 B | 0.08% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1943 B | 4 573 000 | $ 3.00 | $ 3.00 | $ 3.80 | $ 3.80 | $ 6.20 | 10% | ||||||
| 1943 B | 0.10% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1944 B | 7 455 000 | $ 0.73 | $ 1.60 | $ 2.60 | $ 3.30 | $ 3.50 | 15% | ||||||
| 1944 B | 0.17% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1945 B | 4 928 000 | $ 2.00 | $ 2.80 | $ 3.20 | $ 3.30 | 12% | |||||||
| 1945 B | 0.15% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1946 B | 6 817 000 | $ 1.60 | $ 2.60 | $ 3.40 | $ 5.10 | $ 5.10 | 14% | coin alignment | |||||
| 1946 B | 0.4% | medal alignment | |||||||||||
| 1946 B | 0.17% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1948 B | 6 113 000 | $ 2.70 | $ 2.70 | $ 3.30 | $ 3.70 | 13% | |||||||
| 1948 B | 0.15% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1950 B | 7 148 000 | $ 1.10 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.80 | 13% | ||||||
| 1950 B | 0.18% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1951 B | 8 530 000 | $ 2.00 | $ 2.20 | $ 3.00 | $ 3.10 | $ 3.50 | 14% | ||||||
| 1951 B | 0.15% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1952 B | 14 023 000 | $ 0.54 | $ 1.90 | $ 2.20 | $ 3.10 | $ 4.10 | $ 6.40 | 19% | |||||
| 1952 B | 0.18% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1953 B | 3 567 000 | $ 2.00 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.80 | $ 3.30 | $ 3.70 | 8% | ||||||
| 1953 B | 0.10% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1955 B | 1 320 000 | $ 2.30 | $ 2.70 | $ 4.30 | $ 5.10 | 4% | |||||||
| 1955 B | 0.07% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1956 B | 4 250 000 | $ 2.40 | $ 2.70 | $ 3.20 | $ 3.20 | $ 5.80 | 8% | ||||||
| 1956 B | 0.05% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1957 B | 12 085 000 | $ 0.50 | $ 2.00 | $ 2.60 | $ 3.00 | $ 3.00 | $ 3.00 | 15% | |||||
| 1957 B | 0.10% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1958 B | 11 558 000 | $ 0.53 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.20 | $ 3.00 | $ 3.00 | $ 3.40 | 14% | |||||
| 1958 B | 0.12% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1959 B | 12 581 000 | $ 2.60 | $ 2.60 | $ 2.60 | $ 2.60 | $ 2.60 | $ 2.60 | 15% | |||||
| 1959 B | 0.18% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1960 B | 14 528 000 | $ 1.20 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.20 | $ 3.00 | $ 4.20 | 15% | ||||||
| 1960 B | 0.17% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1961 B | 6 906 000 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.20 | 9% | ||||||
| 1961 B | 0.08% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1962 B | 18 272 000 | $ 1.10 | $ 2.10 | $ 2.90 | $ 2.90 | $ 3.10 | 16% | ||||||
| 1962 B | 0.17% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1963 B | 25 168 000 | $ 0.98 | $ 1.70 | $ 2.10 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.80 | $ 2.80 | 18% | |||||
| 1963 B | 0.18% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1964 B | 22 720 000 | $ 1.90 | $ 1.90 | $ 2.70 | $ 2.90 | $ 3.70 | 15% | ||||||
| 1964 B | 0.20% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1965 B | 17 920 000 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.80 | $ 2.80 | $ 3.00 | 12% | ||||||
| 1965 B | 0.18% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1966 B | 10 008 000 | $ 2.00 | $ 2.00 | $ 2.60 | $ 2.60 | 8% | |||||||
| 1966 B | 0.08% | Specimen | |||||||||||
| 1967 B | 16 096 000 | $ 2.10 | $ 2.30 | $ 2.60 | $ 2.90 | 9% | |||||||
| 1967 B | 0.2% | Specimen | |||||||||||
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Numista Rarity index: 4
Bullion value: USD 1.58
This index is based on the data of Numista members collections. It ranges from 0 to 100, 0 meaning a very common coin or banknote and 100 meaning a rare coin or banknote among Numista members.
Bullion value: USD 1.58
This value is given for information purpose only. It is based on a price of silver at 759 USD/kg. Numista does not buy or sell coins or metal.
Past sales
| Pictures | Sale | Date | Version | Grade | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Katz Auction 63 Lot 2193 
|
Jul 26, 2022 | Undetermined | UNC |
USD 163.09
(EUR 150.00) (+ buyer's premium) |
| © Katz Coins Notes & Supplies Corp. | |||||
 |
Katz Auction 63 Lot 2194
|
Jul 26, 2022 | Undetermined | UNC |
USD 599.07
(EUR 551.00) (+ buyer's premium) |
| © Katz Coins Notes & Supplies Corp. | |||||
 |
Katz Auction 63 Lot 2195
|
Jul 26, 2022 | Undetermined | UNC |
USD 251.15
(EUR 231.00) (+ buyer's premium) |
| © Katz Coins Notes & Supplies Corp. | |||||
 |
Katz Auction 63 Lot 2196
|
Jul 26, 2022 | Undetermined | UNC |
USD 153.30
(EUR 141.00) (+ buyer's premium) |
| © Katz Coins Notes & Supplies Corp. | |||||
 |
Katz Auction 63 Lot 2198
|
Jul 26, 2022 | Undetermined | UNC |
USD 134.82
(EUR 124.00) (+ buyer's premium) |
| © Katz Coins Notes & Supplies Corp. | |||||
 |
Katz Auction 63 Lot 2199
|
Jul 26, 2022 | Undetermined | UNC |
USD 65.23
(EUR 60.00) (+ buyer's premium) |
| © Katz Coins Notes & Supplies Corp. | |||||
 |
Katz Auction 63 Lot 2200
|
Jul 26, 2022 | Undetermined | UNC |
USD 108.72
(EUR 100.00) (+ buyer's premium) |
| © Katz Coins Notes & Supplies Corp. | |||||
 |
Katz Auction 63 Lot 2201
|
Jul 26, 2022 | Undetermined | UNC |
USD 96.77
(EUR 89.00) (+ buyer's premium) |
| © Katz Coins Notes & Supplies Corp. | |||||
  |
Heritage Auctions Wednesday & Thursday World & Ancient Coins Select Auction 232218 Lot 61691
|
Apr 28, 2022 | Undetermined |
UNC (NGC MS67) |
USD 70.00
(incl. buyer's premium) |
| © Heritage Auctions | |||||
  |
Heritage Auctions Wednesday & Thursday World & Ancient Coins Select Auction 232209 Lot 61658
|
Feb 24, 2022 | Undetermined |
UNC (PCGS MS68+) |
USD 180.00
(incl. buyer's premium) |
| © Heritage Auctions | |||||
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