Rappen

A sable is a small coin, which was formerly in the southwest of Germany and in today's northern Switzerland and southern Alsace, the Sundgau widespread. Today, the Swiss Franc is divided into 100 centimes.

Etymology

The term " black horse " may be traced back to the following origin: The in Freiburg coined in the 13th century penny originally showed an eagle, which may have been derided as Raven, but in the course of his long time stamping actually turned into the Ravens. Another derivation (J. Cahn, 1901) assumes that the term " black horse " originally " penny black " meant, because of containing little silver penny faster was black - black as a black horse.

Background

This type of coin was very popular on the Upper Rhine. In the so-called Rappenmünzbund of 1377, numerous mints came together in the then Austrian front areas, including the Bishop of Basel for his Mint in Breisach; Colmar in Alsace and Thann; from the present-day Switzerland, the cities of Basel, Schaffhausen, Zofingen, Zurich, Bern, Solothurn and Neuchâtel and Fribourg and other areas in the Breisgau and Sundgau. The goal was to create a uniform coinage and thus economic relief. The black horse penny was in the main currency unit. 1584 this union was dissolved.

Several Swiss cantons continued to dominate centimes. 1798, the Swiss franc was introduced at 100 cents in the Helvetic Republic. This currency could never completely displace the cantonal coin bet. After the end of the Helvetic Republic in 1803 marked the cantons both cents and another, from one canton to different coinage. In 1850, after the founding of the state, the current franc was introduced as a unified Swiss currency, which corresponded to a French franc, but the old 0.7 Swiss francs. So corresponded to a centime until the dissolution of the Latin Monetary Union in 1927 a French centime. Why is still the name of the black horse centime in French and in Italian centesimo.

Today Switzerland mint coins to five, ten and twenty cents, then the half - franc coin ( as it is officially known ), which corresponds to a fifty cents coin. By 2006 Einrappenstücke were minted, which were set to 1 January 2007 except price. However, in the payments they had a long time no more importance. The minting of two centimes pieces has already been set in 1974; In 1978 she was withdrawn from circulation. In the years 2005 and 2006 it was discussed due to put their high cost and lack of need for allegedly set the coinage of five- centime piece and this also off course. From this plan, the Federal Council in mid-2006, however, came from so that Fünfräppler, are still challenged.

The colloquial name for the Einrappenstück is cents per kWh (or Einräppler ), while the term Räppli in Switzerland - contrary to popular opinion in the German-speaking countries - is uncommon. While in Basel, the term exists Räppli, but called no coin, but confetti. The multiples of the Cent Foundation will shortly Füfi or Füfer ( or, depending on dialect Föifi, Föifer, Fünfi, five ), Zähni or Zähner, Zwänzgi or Zwänzger and Füfzgi or Füfzger called. The verb shell is not derived from Münznamen, but goes back to the most Rotwelsche.