Liechtenstein frank

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The frank 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 Swiss franc coins, but not to issue banknotes ^[1].

Liechtenstein used the Austrian krone and heller until 1920 ^[2], and switched to the Swiss franc due to the krone's instability.

Liechtenstein coins are so rare that they don't actually circulate, and no banknotes have been issued, with the exception of 3 emergency issues of "Heller" in 1920 ^[3]. Most of the Liechtenstein frank coins have the same amount of precious metal as the Swiss franc, except for the coins minted in the late 1980s and 1990s.

The highest number of coins minted was the 1 frank minted in 1924; 60,000 were struck, but 45,355 were melted. If the number of melted coins is excluded, the highest mintage would be the 50 franken minted in 1988 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the reign of Prince Franz Joseph II and the 10 franken minted in 1990 commemorating the succession of Prince Hans-Adam II. Both number 35,000.^[4]

[edit] References

^ Währungsvertrag vom 19. Juni 1980 zwischen der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft und dem Fürstentum Liechtenstein (German) (French) (Italian)
^ Anniversary of the Swiss franc in Liechtenstein
^ See www.BanknoteWorld.com for images
^ Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler (2003). 2004 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901-Present, Colin R. Bruce II (senior editor), 31st ed., Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87349-593-4.

Preceded by: Austrian krone and Liechtenstein krone Reason: Austrian krone was unstable	Currency of Liechtenstein 1920 – Concurrent with: Swiss franc	Succeeded by: Current