2016-03-01 Tue

Switzerland celebrates Alpine flora with its latest coin featuring Edelweiss which is the first of a three-coin program of 10-Swiss-franc coins. The edelweiss symbolizes beauty, desire, honesty, purity and courage.

Edelweiss grows mostly on rocky terrain but it feels much more at home in alpine pastures, as it originated in high-altitude plateaus. The flower is almost extinct from the pastures due to excessive picking and is often found only in areas difficult to access. Anyone bold enough to pick this rare and difficult-to-access flower for his beloved will certainly be lucky and rewarded. The star-shaped part with fuzzy, white petals that is generally considered the flower is not actually the flower but a pseudanthium.

The obverse features the Alpine Edelweiss design by artist Jenny Leibundgut. The reverse carries the common design with the denomination, nation’s name and other inscriptions and legends.