Vreneli: Difference between revisions

The 20 franc denomination with the aforementioned specifications (size and alloy and gold content) was first established by Napoleon for France in 1803. The denomination/specifications remained in usage until the [[First World War]] under what was known as the [[Latin Monetary Union|Latin Monetary League]], the "euro before the euro", so-to-speak. Switzerland constituted itself in Confederation in 1848. It adopted the Swiss Franc, and aligned its currency on the French franc in 1850. It joined the Latin Union in December 1865. Switzerland had Swiss 20 franc pieces, Spain had 20 peseta coins, Italy had 20 lira pieces, Belgium had 20 Belgian franc coins, and Greece had 20 drachmas coins all of which circulated and were accepted throughout Europe. Only for political reasons did the EnglishBritish and the German Empires refuse to follow this direction. Attempts were even taken to explore the unification of the European currency with the American dollar, which explains the extremely rare [[Stella (United States coin)|U.S. Stella]] carrying an unusual face value of $4, but which contained the same amount of gold as the 20F Vreneli. An earlier Swiss gold coin had been issued between 1883 and 1896.