Swiss Franc
The Swiss franc is the official currency of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as some areas of Italy and Germany. The ISO code for the currency is CHF (for "Confederation Helvetica Franc"), and although the ISO code is the official currency symbol for the Swiss franc, most businesses use "Fr." or "SFr." instead.
One Swiss franc is split into 100 Rappen (German), centime (French), centesimo (Italian) or rap (Romansh). The franc is also known as the Franken in German and the franco in Italian. Interestingly, due to Switzerland having four different official languages, the inscriptions on Swiss coins are in Latin.
Swiss Franc history
Before the establishment of the Helvetic Republic (the brief forerunner of the Swiss Confederacy) in 1798 it was estimated that as many as 75 different entities in the Swiss region were manufacturing coins. Among the currencies in circulation were the thaler, the gulden and the genevoise. When the Helvetic Republic was formed in 1798, the version of the thaler used in Berne was adopted as the new republic's currency. One thaler was subdivided into ten batzen, which was then further subdivided into 100 centimes. The Helvetic Republic didn't last long, and neither did this currency.
By 1850 the number of different currencies in circulation in Switzerland was ridiculous - it was estimated there were at least 8,000 different coins and notes in use. A new law was passed in 1848 that dictated that only the federal government were now allowed to issue money in Switzerland. Two years later the government introduced the franc, which was issued on a parity basis with the French franc.
For many years the Swiss franc had a reputation as a safe currency to invest in, as the country perpetually had a zero inflation rate and a legislative requirement that a minimum of 40 percent be backed by gold reserves. This link to gold was established in the 1920s, but was phased out in 2000 following a referendum.
The first coins issued by the Helvetic Republic were for 1 centimes, 1/2, 1, 10, 20 and 40 batzen. When the country introduced the franc, coins of value 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 centimes, plus 1/2, 1, and 5 francs were issued. One and two centime coins are no longer minted. Notes are issued by the Swiss National Bank in 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 1,000 franc denominations. The notes contain information in all four official Swiss languages.
Swiss Franc today
One Swiss franc is worth around £0.65, or $1.05.
One British pound sterling is worth around 1.53 Swiss Francs, while one dollar is worth about 0.95 Swiss francs.
There are only around twenty land-based casinos in Switzerland, even though real-world gambling is legal. The small number is probably explained by the high taxes that gambling halls are legally required to play in the country, meaning that only larger casino complexes can exist and expect to turn a profit. There are no internet casinos based in Switzerland as online gambling is prohibited, although Swiss nationals can gamble online at casinos away from Switzerland’s jurisdiction as such rules are rarely enforced. The Swiss franc is readily accepted as a currency that can be used to fund gambling accounts by many online casinos, especially the major brands. Players can fund their accounts in Swiss francs, but the actual gaming is typically done in dollars, GBPs or euros.