CERN silver coin – A symbol of Swiss and global innovation
On 13 March 2025, the Federal Mint Swissmint launched the new “CERN” special coin. CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) is the world’s largest particle physics laboratory.
CERN, founded in 1954 and based in Geneva on the French-Swiss border, is an international organisation with 24 member states. Its primary objective is to explore the fundamental laws of the universe by studying the smallest constituents of matter, particles.
The design of the silver coin focuses on a flagship machine of CERN, a cutting-edge tool for research and innovation in Switzerland. CERN’s LHC (Large Hadron Collider) is the biggest particle accelerator in the world. In this ring, with a circumference of 27 km, protons are accelerated almost to the speed of light and then made to collide. Analysis of these collisions provides a deeper understanding of the fundamental structure of matter and how the universe works.
Obverse
The obverse of the coin depicts one of these collisions, which creates a large number of particles, some of which were present at the start of the universe, shortly after the Big Bang. The image is accompanied by the inscription “UNIVERSE OF PARTICLES – CERN”.
Reverse
The reverse shows a magnet from the Large Hadron Collider. These superconducting magnets are technological masterpieces. They generate very powerful magnetic fields to guide and concentrate the particle beams in the ring. The face value of CHF 20 is also shown on the reverse of the coin, along with the words “CONFOEDERATIO HELVETICA”, the year of issue 2025, and the mint mark “B” for Swissmint.