Design, Meaning, And Materials The design for Switzerland's 10 centimes coin (the oldest in circulation) was created by Karl Schwenzer in 1879.
Schwenzer was no newbie to coin design at this time, but had served as the royal court medalist (or coin artist) for the then-German state, the Kingdom of Württemberg.
Working for Switzerland, Schwenzer created a design that features Liberty's head in right-facing profile on the obverse (or heads) side of the coin, surrounded by the phrase "CONFŒDERATIO HELVETICA."
On the reverse (or tails) side, the 10 centimes coin bears the number "10" wreathed by the leaves of two oak branches, tied together at their base with a ribbon.
History And Significance Switzerland is a landlocked empire of mountains, watches, and chocolate. Due to its diverse borders, Switzerland boasts four national languages:
French, German, Italian, and Romansh. The west-central European country is famous for its skiing, lakes, and long-held stance of military neutrality.
In fact, Switzerland has always been slow to unify, whether with the world at large -- or within its own 26 cantons, or member states.