Switzerland's fascinating coinage history began around 200 BC with Celtic coins. From the 10th century onwards, the first pennies and one-sided bracteates were issued in Zurich, Basel, Bern, Schaffhausen, St. Gallen and other cities by various secular and ecclesiastical coining authorities. Shortly after the first large silver coins were minted in Hall in Tyrol, Bern also began minting guldiners in 1493. The diocese of Sion and the cities of Fribourg, Solothurn, Basel and Lucerne followed shortly thereafter.

From the 16th century onwards, the approximately 75 different authorities that had the right to mint coins in what is now Switzerland created an infinitely complex but also exciting coinage system due to the different denominations they used. As each independent town had its own right to mint coins, there were around 860 different types of coins in circulation.

The Swiss Confederation, founded in 1848, put an end to this confusion. Article 36 of the Federal Constitution stipulated that all coinage by the various authorities was to be discontinued with immediate effect and that the right to issue coins was to be exercised exclusively by the Confederation. In 1865, the Latin Monetary Union was established: France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and later Greece agreed to issue gold and silver coins of equal weight and content. This made the currencies convertible and exchangeable. The growing economic problems caused by the fluctuating values of individual currencies sealed the end of this union at the beginning of the 20th century.

In 1871, the Federal Council had a few sample gold coins minted for the first time. However, as these coins could not be produced without incurring losses, the final issue of Swiss gold coins (with a face value of 20 francs, known as ‘Helvetia’) was delayed until 1883. The famous 20 francs ‘Goldvreneli’ (minted from 1897 to 1949) are still among the most popular gift coins today.

In 1925, at the behest of Federal President Jean Marie Musy, only 5,000 gold coins with a face value of 100 francs were minted and issued. This is the only issue of a Swiss gold coin of this denomination. From 1968/69 onwards, Swiss silver coins were withdrawn from circulation and replaced by coins made of a copper-nickel alloy. The commemorative coins issued between 1936 and 1963 were initially minted in silver and, from 1974 onwards, in copper-nickel. In 1991, to mark the 700th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation, commemorative coins were issued in gold (250 francs) and silver (20 francs). In 1998, silver and gold coins were minted once again to mark the 150th anniversary of the Federal Constitution and the 200th anniversary of the Helvetic Republic.