½ Franc Helvetia standing; silver
© NGC
Features
| Issuer |
Switzerland ›
Switzerland (1848-date)
 |
|---|---|
| Period |
Federal State (1848-date)
|
| Type | Standard circulation coins |
| Years | 1875-1967 |
| Value | ½ Franc (½ CHF) |
| Currency | Franc (1850-date) |
| Composition | Silver (.835) (.165 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 |
| References | HMZ 2# 1206 Jürg Richter, Ruedi Kunzmann. Der neue HMZ-Katalog. Band 2 - Die Münzen der Schweiz und Liechtensteins : 15./16. Jahrhundert bis Gegenwart. Battenberg Gietl Verlag, Regenstauf, Bavaria, Germany (2 volumes). Jean-Paul Divo, Edwin Tobler. Die Münzen der Schweiz im 19. Und 20. Jahrhundert. Bank Leu, Adolf Hess, Zürich, Switzerland / Luzern, Switzerland (2 volumes). Standard Catalog of World Coins (86 volumes). Battenberg Gietl Verlag (publisher). Weltmünzkatalog. Battenberg Gietl Verlag, Regenstauf, Bavaria, Germany (4 volumes). Richard Sperry Yeoman. R. S. Yeoman's Modern & Current World Coins (16 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
Designer: Albert Walch
Reverse
Wreath formed of oak and alpine rose branches tied with a ribbon below.
Script: Latin
Lettering:
½ Fr.
1878
B
Engraver: Antoine Bovy
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.
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| Date | Mintage | G | VG | F | VF | XF | AU | UNC | Frequency | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undetermined | |||||||||||||||
| 1875 B | 1 000 000 | $ 16 | $ 16 | $ 16 | 2% | ||||||||||
| 1875 B | Specimen | 0.06% | |||||||||||||
| 1877 B | 1 000 000 | $ 5.50 | $ 20 | $ 20 | 1.9% | ||||||||||
| 1877 B | Specimen | 0.05% | |||||||||||||
| 1878 B | 1 000 000 | $ 17 | $ 17 | $ 32 | 2% | ||||||||||
| 1878 B | Specimen | 0.06% | |||||||||||||
| 1879 B | 1 000 000 | $ 12 | $ 13 | $ 25 | 1.9% | ||||||||||
| 1879 B | Specimen | 0.04% | |||||||||||||
| 1881 B | 1 000 000 | $ 9.60 | $ 12 | $ 17 | 3% | ||||||||||
| 1881 B | Specimen | 0.07% | |||||||||||||
| 1882 B | 1 000 000 | $ 10 | $ 10 | $ 16 | 3% | ||||||||||
| 1882 B | Specimen | 0.05% | |||||||||||||
| 1894 A | 800 000 | $ 14 | $ 16 | 1.7% | |||||||||||
| 1894 B | Specimen | 0.05% | |||||||||||||
| 1896 B | 28 | Specimen | 0.11% | ||||||||||||
| 1898 B | 1 600 000 | $ 5.30 | $ 6.50 | $ 8.70 | $ 12 | 6% | |||||||||
| 1898 B | Specimen | 0.08% | |||||||||||||
| 1899 B | 400 000 | $ 14 | $ 14 | 2% | |||||||||||
| 1899 B | Specimen | 0.04% | |||||||||||||
| 1900 B | 400 000 | $ 9.20 | $ 9.20 | $ 9.20 | 2% | ||||||||||
| 1900 B | Specimen | 0.05% | |||||||||||||
| 1901 B | 200 000 | $ 16 | $ 16 | $ 17 | 1.5% | ||||||||||
| 1901 B | Specimen | 0.05% | |||||||||||||
| 1903 B | 800 000 | $ 4.60 | $ 6.30 | $ 11 | 4% | ||||||||||
| 1903 B | Specimen | 0.05% | |||||||||||||
| 1904 B | 400 000 | $ 5.00 | $ 10 | $ 19 | 3% | ||||||||||
| 1904 B | Specimen | 0.05% | |||||||||||||
| 1905 B | 600 000 | $ 9.50 | $ 9.50 | $ 13 | 4% | ||||||||||
| 1905 B | Specimen | 0.07% | |||||||||||||
| 1906 B | 1 000 000 | $ 5.20 | $ 6.10 | $ 6.10 | $ 8.30 | 5% | |||||||||
| 1906 B | Specimen | 0.06% | |||||||||||||
| 1907 B | 1 200 000 | $ 6.20 | $ 7.40 | $ 7.40 | $ 8.70 | 6% | |||||||||
| 1907 B | Specimen | 0.04% | |||||||||||||
| 1908 B | 800 000 | $ 9.20 | $ 10 | $ 12 | 4% | ||||||||||
| 1908 B | Specimen | 0.04% | |||||||||||||
| 1909 B | 1 000 000 | $ 9.80 | $ 9.80 | $ 9.80 | $ 9.80 | 5% | |||||||||
| 1909 B | Specimen | 0.12% | |||||||||||||
| 1910 B | 1 000 000 | $ 5.00 | $ 9.00 | $ 11 | $ 14 | 5% | |||||||||
| 1910 B | Specimen | 0.05% | |||||||||||||
| 1913 B | 800 000 | $ 9.30 | $ 9.30 | $ 13 | 4% | ||||||||||
| 1913 B | Specimen | 0.06% | |||||||||||||
| 1914 B | 2 000 000 | $ 4.90 | $ 6.10 | $ 9.60 | $ 9.60 | 7% | |||||||||
| 1914 B | Specimen | 0.04% | |||||||||||||
| 1916 B | 800 000 | $ 6.80 | $ 8.40 | $ 8.40 | $ 11 | 4% | |||||||||
| 1916 B | Specimen | 0.04% | |||||||||||||
| 1920 B | 5 400 000 | $ 5.70 | $ 7.10 | $ 9.30 | $ 9.30 | $ 10.00 | $ 10 | 14% | |||||||
| 1920 B | Specimen | 0.14% | |||||||||||||
| 1921 B | 
|
6 000 000 | $ 4.90 | $ 7.30 | $ 7.30 | $ 8.70 | $ 11 | 15% | |||||||
| 1921 B | Specimen | 0.04% | |||||||||||||
| 1928 B | 1 000 000 | $ 6.80 | $ 9.30 | $ 13 | 4% | ||||||||||
| 1928 B | Specimen | 0.04% | |||||||||||||
| 1929 B | 2 000 000 | $ 5.70 | $ 7.80 | $ 7.80 | $ 13 | 7% | |||||||||
| 1929 B | Specimen | 0.06% | |||||||||||||
| 1931 B | 1 000 000 | $ 6.60 | $ 7.90 | $ 13 | 4% | ||||||||||
| 1931 B | Specimen | 0.06% | |||||||||||||
| 1932 B | 1 000 000 | $ 4.00 | $ 9.80 | $ 9.80 | $ 9.80 | 4% | |||||||||
| 1932 B | Specimen | 0.04% | |||||||||||||
| 1934 B | 2 000 000 | $ 8.00 | $ 9.00 | $ 14 | 6% | ||||||||||
| 1934 B | Specimen | 0.06% | |||||||||||||
| 1936 B | 400 000 | $ 5.90 | $ 8.90 | $ 11 | 2% | ||||||||||
| 1936 B | Specimen | 0.05% | |||||||||||||
| 1937 B | 1 000 000 | $ 8.60 | $ 8.60 | $ 10 | 4% | ||||||||||
| 1937 B | Specimen | 0.04% | |||||||||||||
| 1939 B | 1 001 000 | $ 9.90 | $ 9.90 | $ 16 | $ 16 | 4% | |||||||||
| 1939 B | Specimen | 0.04% | |||||||||||||
| 1940 B | 2 002 000 | $ 6.70 | $ 6.70 | $ 10 | 7% | ||||||||||
| 1940 B | Specimen | 0.11% | |||||||||||||
| 1941 B | 200 000 | $ 5.50 | $ 11 | $ 11 | 4% | ||||||||||
| 1941 B | Specimen | 0.08% | |||||||||||||
| 1942 B | 2 969 000 | $ 4.50 | $ 4.90 | $ 8.30 | $ 9.10 | $ 12 | 7% | ||||||||
| 1942 B | Specimen | 0.07% | |||||||||||||
| 1943 B |
|
4 573 000 | $ 5.80 | $ 9.00 | $ 9.00 | $ 9.00 | $ 9.00 | 10% | |||||||
| 1943 B | Specimen | 0.08% | |||||||||||||
| 1944 B | 7 455 000 | $ 3.20 | $ 7.20 | $ 7.20 | $ 7.20 | $ 7.20 | $ 7.20 | 15% | |||||||
| 1944 B | Specimen | 0.12% | |||||||||||||
| 1945 B | 4 928 000 | $ 6.90 | $ 8.30 | $ 9.10 | $ 11 | $ 11 | 12% | ||||||||
| 1945 B | Specimen | 0.12% | |||||||||||||
| 1946 B | 6 817 000 | $ 5.10 | $ 7.00 | $ 7.20 | $ 8.90 | $ 16 | coin alignment | 14% | |||||||
| 1946 B | medal alignment | 0.3% | |||||||||||||
| 1946 B | Specimen | 0.11% | |||||||||||||
| 1948 B | 6 113 000 | $ 6.50 | $ 6.50 | $ 8.20 | $ 8.40 | 13% | |||||||||
| 1948 B | Specimen | 0.10% | |||||||||||||
| 1950 B |
|
7 148 000 | $ 5.50 | $ 5.50 | $ 6.80 | $ 6.80 | $ 6.80 | $ 15 | 13% | ||||||
| 1950 B | Specimen | 0.14% | |||||||||||||
| 1951 B | 8 530 000 | $ 4.20 | $ 7.20 | $ 7.20 | $ 7.20 | $ 13 | 14% | ||||||||
| 1951 B | Specimen | 0.11% | |||||||||||||
| 1952 B |
|
14 023 000 | $ 5.70 | $ 5.70 | $ 6.60 | $ 8.00 | $ 9.20 | $ 9.30 | 19% | ||||||
| 1952 B | Specimen | 0.13% | |||||||||||||
| 1953 B | 3 567 000 | $ 6.00 | $ 6.00 | $ 6.00 | $ 6.00 | $ 8.70 | 8% | ||||||||
| 1953 B | Specimen | 0.08% | |||||||||||||
| 1955 B | 1 320 000 | $ 8.70 | $ 8.70 | $ 9.20 | $ 11 | 4% | |||||||||
| 1955 B | Specimen | 0.06% | |||||||||||||
| 1956 B | 4 250 000 | $ 7.50 | $ 7.90 | $ 8.20 | $ 10 | $ 11 | 8% | ||||||||
| 1956 B | Specimen | 0.05% | |||||||||||||
| 1957 B | 12 085 000 | $ 2.70 | $ 7.20 | $ 7.20 | $ 8.20 | $ 8.20 | $ 12 | 15% | |||||||
| 1957 B | Specimen | 0.07% | |||||||||||||
| 1958 B | 11 558 000 | $ 4.80 | $ 7.10 | $ 7.20 | $ 8.00 | $ 9.60 | 14% | ||||||||
| 1958 B | Specimen | 0.08% | |||||||||||||
| 1959 B | 12 581 000 | $ 5.10 | $ 5.10 | $ 6.50 | $ 6.50 | $ 6.50 | $ 9.50 | 15% | |||||||
| 1959 B | Specimen | 0.14% | |||||||||||||
| 1960 B | 14 528 000 | $ 4.90 | $ 4.90 | $ 6.70 | $ 6.80 | $ 7.10 | $ 9.20 | 15% | |||||||
| 1960 B | Specimen | 0.13% | |||||||||||||
| 1961 B |
|
6 906 000 | $ 3.30 | $ 6.40 | $ 6.40 | $ 6.40 | $ 6.40 | $ 6.40 | 9% | ||||||
| 1961 B | Specimen | 0.07% | |||||||||||||
| 1962 B | 18 272 000 | $ 4.40 | $ 7.10 | $ 7.10 | $ 7.10 | $ 7.10 | 16% | ||||||||
| 1962 B | Specimen | 0.12% | |||||||||||||
| 1963 B | 25 168 000 | $ 6.60 | $ 6.60 | $ 6.60 | $ 6.60 | $ 6.60 | $ 6.60 | 17% | |||||||
| 1963 B | Specimen | 0.13% | |||||||||||||
| 1964 B | 22 720 000 | $ 5.80 | $ 6.30 | $ 6.80 | $ 6.80 | $ 8.80 | 15% | ||||||||
| 1964 B | Specimen | 0.14% | |||||||||||||
| 1965 B | 17 920 000 | $ 5.40 | $ 6.20 | $ 6.30 | $ 8.10 | $ 8.10 | $ 8.10 | 12% | |||||||
| 1965 B | Specimen | 0.13% | |||||||||||||
| 1966 B | 10 008 000 | $ 5.80 | $ 6.90 | $ 6.90 | $ 6.90 | 8% | |||||||||
| 1966 B | Specimen | 0.06% | |||||||||||||
| 1967 B | 16 096 000 | $ 6.70 | $ 7.30 | $ 7.30 | $ 10 | 9% | |||||||||
| 1967 B | Specimen | 0.17% | |||||||||||||
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Numista Rarity index: 3
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 4.90
This value is given for information purpose only. It is based on a price of silver at 2346 USD/kg. Numista does not buy or sell coins or metal.
Actual silver weight: 0.067 oz
Current silver price: 72.98 USD/oz (see silver price 
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