5 Francs Herdsman, silver, small type

Switzerland introduced this reduced-module 5-franc piece in 1931, replacing the larger Verenathaler-sized coin that had circulated since 1888. The change was driven by the global silver price spike following World War I, which had made the older, heavier coins worth more as metal than as currency — a chronic problem that had already forced several suspension periods. The smaller planchet was the pragmatic fix.

Production was intermittent across the type's nearly four-decade run, with several years seeing no strikes at all. The 1939 issue is among the scarcest, with mintage figures that leave it genuinely difficult to locate in unimpaired condition.