20 Rappen Coat of arms

Switzerland's federal coinage system was barely months old when these were struck — the 1848 constitution had only just transferred monetary authority from the cantons to the new federal government, ending a chaotic period in which over eight hundred different coin types circulated simultaneously across the country. The 20 Rappen was among the first issues to impose genuine uniformity on that mess.

The billon composition was a deliberate compromise, keeping silver content low enough to prevent hoarding while maintaining a coin that felt credible in the hand. By the 1860s the formula was already being reconsidered, and this type was superseded.