Swissmint is the official

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

of the

Swiss Confederation Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...

. Located in the Swiss capital city

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, it is responsible for manufacturing

Swiss franc 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) iss ...

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

s, both of the currency and

bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from ...

variety. Apart from making coins for the government, Swissmint also manufactures medals and commemorative coins for private customers.

Status

Swissmint is an agency of the Swiss federal government. It is part of the

Federal Finance Administration The Federal Finance Administration (FFA) is the Swiss federal office responsible for drawing up the Confederation's budget, financial plan and accounts, managing its treasury, and for the Equalization Payments in Switzerland, financial equalizati ...

, which in turn belongs to the

Federal Department of Finance The Federal Department of Finance (FDF, , , , ) is one of the seven Ministry (government department), departments of the Swiss federal government. The department is headquartered in Bern and headed by a member of the Federal Council (Switzerlan ...

. Since 1998, the Official Mint of the Confederation operates as an independent business unit under the name ''Swissmint''. As of 2005, Swissmint has 21 employees.

Building

The mint's building is a heritage site of national significance. It was built in 1903–06 based on designs by Theodor Gohl to replace an older building at the ''Gerberngraben''. The sober, industrial-style yellow brick building is fronted by a

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

façade in marble and sandstone.

Notes and references

External links

Official website
*

{{Authority control 1848 establishments in Switzerland Mints of Europe Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern companies based in Bern Federal Department of Finance Buildings and structures in Bern Currencies of Switzerland

Status

Building

Notes and references

See also

External links