Swissmint

Swissmint in Bern

The Swissmint (formerly: Federal Mint ) in Bern is the official mint in Switzerland . It is subordinate to the Federal Finance Administration, its main task is the minting of the circulation coins for daily payment transactions. It also produces special coins, commemorative coins and medals. Other tasks of Swissmint are the distribution of collector coins, the destruction of soiled, worn or damaged coins and the authenticity of suspected coins. Swissmint is based in a building designed by Theodor Gohl and commissioned in 1906 in Bern's Kirchenfeld district . As a cultural asset of national importance , it is a listed building.

history

Mint at Gerberngraben

In 1850, the Swiss federal state, founded two years earlier, introduced the Swiss franc as a single currency. In the absence of a suitable production facility, the coins were initially minted in France . In 1855, after lengthy negotiations , the canton of Bern made available a mint on Gerberngraben that had not been used for 17 years. This classicistic building on the southern edge of Bern's old town was built between 1790 and 1792 according to plans by the French architect Jacques-Denis Antoine ; Niklaus Sprüngli was the site manager at the time . In addition to coins, the mint also produced postage stamps ; In addition, the Federal Verification Center was housed here.

The mint at Gerberngraben turned out to be too small, which is why the Federal Building Department began planning a new building in the 1890s. In 1902, the federal government acquired a plot of land in the Kirchenfeld district from the Berne Land Company . A new building based on plans by Theodor Gohl was completed in May 1906 after almost three years of construction. The building was taken over on July 2, 1906 by the Federal Council, who was fully present . The old mint, which became federal property in 1891, was sold to Hotel Bellevue AG in 1910. This had the building torn down in 1911; in its place a new building of the Hotel Bellevue Palace was built by 1913 .

From 1855 to 1930 the Federal Mint was also responsible for the production of postage stamps . Responsibility passed to the PTT administration in 1931 , but production continued on the premises of the mint until 1966. Until the changeover of the coin alloy from silver to cupronickel in 1967, the mint produced the rondelles (coin plates) itself, but then abandoned them for reasons of capacity and profitability. The embossing tools (stamps) are still manufactured here. On January 1, 1998, the Federal Mint was given a new status and the new name Swissmint. Since then it has been an independent unit of the Swiss Federal Finance Administration with a service mandate and a global budget .

building

The Swissmint building is in the Kirchenfeld district between Bernastrasse and Aegertenstrasse. The Swiss Federal Archives , the Kirchenfeld high school , the Swiss National Library and the Natural History Museum in Bern are in the immediate vicinity .

The building, built by Theodor Gohl in the neo-Renaissance style, is rectangular and has an inner courtyard, the structure consists of light red bricks with cornices and decorative elements made of sandstone , limestone and gneiss . The basement is also made of these natural stones. Half-columns and pilasters adorn the central projection above the main portal. A segment arch arches above it , which encloses a cartridge with a Swiss cross. Another decoration are relief medallions by Giuseppe Chiattone . In the workshop wings, mascarons adorn the segmental arches of the ground floor windows.

literature

Hanspeter Koch, Monica Bilfinger: The Federal Mint in Bern . Ed .: Society for Swiss Art History. Swiss art guide, volume 799 , series 80.Bern 2006, ISBN 3-85782-799-8 .