Interview with Rico Kessler and Fabia Lyrenmann
On 19 March, Swissmint launched the bimetallic “animal of the year: the hedgehog” special coin, commemorating the 2026 animal of the year. We asked Rico Kessler, Communications Project Manager at Pro Natura, and Fabia Lyrenmann, coin designer at Swissmint, to tell our readers about the “animal of the year: the hedgehog” special coin.
Mr Kessler, could you briefly explain the idea behind “animal of the year” and tell us why the hedgehog was chosen as the 2026 animal of the year?
With its “animal of the year” initiative, Pro Natura focuses on a specific species to highlight where nature needs help and what concrete steps we can take. For example, the hedgehog: the 2026 animal of the year lives right among us in towns and villages. The more nature-friendly we make our gardens, parks, school grounds, cemeteries and green spaces, the better off hedgehogs will be. Pro Natura therefore wants to encourage individuals and local authorities to create more hedges, flower meadows, hiding places and obstacle-free migration corridors for these charming little insectivores.
Our readers are, of course, very keen to know how the idea arose to issue a special coin featuring the 2026 animal of the year, and what you hope to achieve with the coin. Fabia, can you tell us more?
It’s always lovely to link a coin to a theme that resonates with Switzerland and it’s all the more wonderful that this collaboration with Pro Natura has come about. The 2026 animal of the year is not only “cute” but is also classified as “potentially endangered”. We hope that our coin will help even more people learn about how hedgehogs live, their needs and how we can support them in our shared habitat. That is why we are delighted to dedicate one of our special coins to the “2026 animal of the year”.
Finally, a question for you, Mr Kessler: what message would you like to convey to those who purchase the “animal of the year 2026: the hedgehog” special coin, to encourage them to support and protect hedgehogs?
I hope that as many people as possible who buy this collector’s item will be inspired to do even more for hedgehogs in their own gardens, and to encourage their friends and family to do the same. That would be wonderful!
