Rappen

Last updated
The Swiss 5-Rappen coin Funfrappen.jpg
The Swiss 5-Rappen coin
The Swiss 1-Rappen coin has not been valid since 2007. 1 Ct 1995 SwissMint.jpg
The Swiss 1-Rappen coin has not been valid since 2007.
Rappenpfennig from Freiburg im Breisgau, ca. 1290 Rappen pfennig freiburg.jpg
Rappenpfennig from Freiburg im Breisgau, ca. 1290

A Rappen (pl. Rappen) originally was a variant of the medieval Pfennig ("penny") coin common to the Alemannic German regions of Alsace, northern Switzerland and south-western Germany. As with other German pennies, its half-piece was a Haller, the smallest piece which was struck.

Contents

Today, one-hundredth of a Swiss franc is still officially called a Rappen in German and Swiss German and a rap in Romansh. In French-speaking Switzerland, the modern Swiss currency-unit is called a centime (pl. centimes) and in Italian-speaking Switzerland, a centesimo (pl. centesimi), respectively. Centime(s) is also used internationally or in languages other than the Swiss national languages. [1] [2]

Name

The origin of the term can be traced back to the Rappenpfennig, a form of the penny minted in Freiburg im Breisgau in the 13th century featuring an eagle, which later on was interpreted to depict a raven (German Rabe; the word is thus a cognate of its German homophone Rappen referring to a "raven"-black horse).

Due to the coin's wide circulation in the Upper Rhine region, it was adopted as standard currency in the so-called Rappenbund ("Rappen federation"), a union of regional mints formed in 1399 that included the Bishop of Basel and most of the region's larger cities. After the dissolution of the Rappenbund in 1584, a number of Swiss states continued to mint rappen within their territories, where they remained in local use until the middle of the 19th century.

History

In 1798, when Switzerland was politically unified by the French under the Helvetic Republic, a unified currency was needed to standardise the widely differing currencies of the so-far sovereign Swiss states (up to then about 860 different coins had been used in Switzerland). [3] A new Swiss franc based on the Berne thaler was introduced, in which 10 rappen made one batzen, 10 of which in turn formed one franc. This unified coinage was struck for five years only, until the end of the Helvetic Republic in 1803. However, many of the newly independent Cantons of Switzerland now minted their own, localised versions of decimal franc, batzen, and rappen currencies, until Switzerland was again politically unified in 1848 and the modern Swiss franc was issued to replace the local currencies in the Federal Coinage Act of 1850.

Two-rappen coins were struck until 1974 and withdrawn from circulation in 1978, one-rappen coins continued to be struck until 2006 and were demonetised in 2007, long after they had fallen out of daily use. The 5, 10, and 20 rappen coins are currently in circulation, while the füfzgi is officially not a 50 rappen coin, but a half-franc coin (see Coins of the Swiss franc).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centime</span> Fraction currency in several Francophone countries

Centime is French for "cent", and is used in English as the name of the fraction currency in several Francophone countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thaler</span> Large silver coin used in 16th- to 19th-century Europe

A thaler or taler is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A thaler size silver coin has a diameter of about 40 mm and a weight of about 25 to 30 grams. The word is shortened from Joachimsthaler, the original thaler coin minted in Joachimsthal, Bohemia, from 1520.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Switzerland</span>

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swiss franc</span> Currency of Switzerland and Liechtenstein

The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the federal mint Swissmint issues coins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French franc</span> Currency of France from 1795 to 2002

The franc, also commonly distinguished as the French franc (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It was reintroduced in 1795. After two centuries of inflation, it was redenominated in 1960, with each new franc (NF) being worth 100 old francs. The NF designation was continued for a few years before the currency returned to being simply the franc. Many French residents, though, continued to quote prices of especially expensive items in terms of the old franc, up to and even after the introduction of the euro in 2002. The French franc was a commonly held international reserve currency of reference in the 19th and 20th centuries. Between 1998 and 2002, the conversion of francs to euros was carried out at a rate of 6.55957 francs to 1 euro.

<i>Batzen</i>

The batzen is an historical Swiss, south German and Austrian coin. It was first produced in Bern, Switzerland, from 1492 and continued in use there until the mid-19th century.

The Congolese franc is the currency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is subdivided into 100 centimes. However, centimes no longer have a practical value and are no longer used. In April 2024, 2,800 francs was equivalent to US$1.

The dinar is the monetary currency of Algeria and it is subdivided into 100 centimes. Centimes are now obsolete due to their extremely low value.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haitian gourde</span> Currency of Haiti

The gourde or goud is the currency of Haiti. Its ISO 4217 code is HTG and it is divided into 100 centimes (French) or santim (Creole).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgian franc</span> Currency of Belgium from 1832 to 2002

The Belgian franc was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a centiem in Dutch, or centime in French and German.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vreneli</span> Gold coins

Vreneli is the informal name for a range of legal tender gold coins of the Swiss franc. The coins were issued between 1897 and 1936, in 1947 and in 1949. All coins issued after 1936 are restrikes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liechtenstein franc</span> Currency of Liechtenstein

The Swiss franc has been the currency of Liechtenstein since 1920. The Swiss franc is legal tender since Liechtenstein is in a customs and monetary union with Switzerland. The 1980 treaty between Switzerland and Liechtenstein allows Liechtenstein to mint limited amounts of Swiss francs with a Liechtenstein inscription, but only in the form of commemorative coins, and they are not allowed to issue banknotes.

The Basel frank was the currency of the Swiss canton of Basel between 1798 and 1850. It was worth 1⁄4th the French silver écu or 6.67 g fine silver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berne thaler</span>

The Berne Thaler was a coin equivalent to the French silver écu issued by the Swiss Canton of Bern. It contained 26.67 g fine silver and was valued at 4 livres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berne frank</span> Former Swiss currency

The Frank was the currency of the Swiss canton of Bern between 1798 and 1850. It was subdivided into 10 Batzen, each of 10 Rappen. It was worth 1⁄4th the French silver écu or 6.67 g fine silver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luzern frank</span>

The Frank was the currency of the Swiss canton of Luzern between 1798 and 1850. It was subdivided into 10 Batzen, each of 10 Rappen or 20 Angster. It was worth 1⁄4th the French silver écu or 6.67 g fine silver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zürich thaler</span>

The cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy used a currency system consisting of based on the old unit of the Schilling, with the Schilling divided into 4 Rappen or 12 Haller. The Taler was a large silver coin equivalent to 72 Schilling or 2 Gulden that came into use in the 16th century. The Batzen was an intermediate coin equivalent to 2 Schilling or 1⁄18Gulden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zürich frank</span>

The Frank was the currency of the Swiss canton of Zürich between 1806 and 1850. It was subdivided into 10 Batzen, each of 10 Rappen, with 3 Heller to the Rappen and 4 Rappen to the Schilling. It was worth 1⁄4th the French silver écu or 6.67 g fine silver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coins of the Swiss franc</span> Official coins used in Switzerland and Liechtenstein

The coins of the Swiss franc are the official coins used in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The name of the subunit is centime in French and internationally, Rappen in German, centesimo in Italian, and rap in Romansh. There are coins in denominations of 5 centimes, 10 centimes, 20 centimes, 1⁄2 franc, 1 franc, 2 francs, and 5 francs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Fueter</span>

Christian Fueter was a Swiss medalist and mint-master at Bern from 1792–1837.

References

  1. ↑ "Art. 1 Amtliche Bezeichnungen und Abkürzungen/Dénominations officielles et abréviations/Denominazioni ufficiali e abbreviazioni SR/RS 941.101 Münzverordnung/Ordonnance sur la monnaie/Ordinanza sulle monete, 12 April 2000 (MünzV/O sur la monnaie/OMon)" (federal act) (in German, French, and Italian). Berne, Switzerland: Federal Council. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  2. ↑ "Style Guides for English-language translators" (PDF) (official site). Berne, Switzerland: Federal Chancellery. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  3. ↑ LaLiberté.ch Archived 2011-02-22 at the Wayback Machine , (in French) La Liberté, 09.01.2009, La fabuleuse histoire du franc suisse.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.