Interview with
Chiara Principe
The coin designer Chiara Principe created the 100 Years 100-Franc Vreneli, which will be presented for the first time at the WMF next year. What is it like to touch an iconic coin?
The Vreneli is an iconic coin in Switzerland. Reinventing a coin like this is quite a challenge. How did you go about it?
Every time I take on a new commission, especially one from a state institution, I see it not just as a job but first and foremost as a great honour and a great challenge. As an artist and coin enthusiast, I was of course familiar with the gold Vreneli, but I would never have imagined that one day I would be working on a coin in its honour. First of all, I immersed myself as deeply as possible in the coin itself: its origin, its history and its beauty. I was fascinated by the artist who created it and by the interesting events surrounding the competition that made it Switzerland’s numismatic icon. I felt a deep connection with this fascinating and mysterious Vreneli, a young girl with simple features and clothes, surrounded by an immersive landscape, who turns out to be Helvetia par excellence. She was so different from the Roman goddesses to which Swiss numismatics had become accustomed, with their regal and noble appearance, appearing perhaps closer to the people and therefore so beloved by all. In addition to delving into art and cultural history, and searching for an emotional connection with the image of Vreneli, conversations with my Swiss friends were very useful.
“In addition to delving into art and cultural history, and searching for an emotional connection with the image of Vreneli, conversations with my Swiss friends were very useful.”
Can you describe what the Vreneli in general, and the 100-franc Vreneli in particular, mean to you?
I first saw a picture of the gold Vreneli while studying the history of numismatics. The coin impressed me above all because of one aspect, which I will try to briefly contextualise: It has to do with the history of the gold marengo, a famous coin that was in circulation in Europe for just over a century from 1815.
The marengo was a very important currency because it was the first real attempt by European states to establish a monetary union, which was then called the Latin Monetary Union and Switzerland was also a member. The countries that signed this agreement in 1865 (France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and later Greece) undertook to mint these coins according to the franc germinal system, and all gold coins with a nominal value of CHF 20 (including the gold Vreneli) were given the name gold marengos. Editor’s note : the gold franc corresponded to the franc germinal, which was legally established by Napoléon Bonaparte on 7 Germinal XI (28 March 1803). Each marengo could be exchanged at a rate of 1 : 1 with other marengos from different countries. This made it a true continental currency and the first attempt at a unified European currency.
What immediately caught my eye when I looked at the pictures of the five European gold marengos, however, was the following: the Swiss marengo was the only coin among the five European ones to bear the image of a woman! I was immediately fascinated: “What a delight,” I thought! Something like “Wow, I’m part of this too!” It wasn’t the profile of a king or a sovereign, as on other marengos, but that of a young, simple girl, with the mountains in the background and her flowing hair. The gold Vreneli seemed to be a currency of rare modernity compared to its peers, all of which bore a historical context.
“The coin celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 100-franc Vreneli represents a nation that is firmly anchored in its historical and cultural values and is not afraid to look to the future while remaining true to itself and these values.”
I believe that the fact that the celebrations for this coin were entrusted to a woman artist has a very specific meaning: over the centuries, the perception of women in culture and also in art has undergone tremendous changes, and today more than ever it is a central and very sensitive issue that is very close to my heart. The opportunity to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 100-franc Vreneli has great symbolic value for me as a woman and as an artist, and I hope that every Swiss woman feels valued and celebrated as a vibrant part of Switzerland’s history, culture and life.
“First of all, I immersed myself as deeply as possible in the coin itself, its origin, its history and its beauty.”
About Chiara Principe
Chiara Principe is a renowned Italian artist, sculptor and coin designer from Rome. She studied sculpture and then coinage and medal minting at the Art School of the Italian Mint, both in her home city. Her career took off after she was shortlisted in a design competition held by the Japanese Mint in 2007 with a project on global warming and the Kyoto Protocol.
Since 2013, she has been working as a freelance coin designer for several major international and private mints, and her work can be seen on the coins of many countries. Her designs often celebrate feminine beauty and explore themes such as women, children, families and the Earth. They are widely admired for their originality, dynamism, versatility and extravagance. Chiara is particularly known for her numerous coins, medals and stamps for the Vatican City and the Republic of San Marino, which she has been designing since 2012.
In 2019, she also started working for Powercoin (Italy). Her series “Evil Within” began with her groundbreaking piece “Pandora’s Box”, which was issued for the Republic of Palau in 2019. She has also designed coins featuring dark fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood. Since 2020, she has been creating designs for the East India Company in London, which are issued for the British overseas territory of St. Helena. These include a neoclassical 1 Oz platinum jubilee coin in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth II, featuring two elegant female figures. This is followed by her two series: Modern Trade Dollars, inspired by the original 19th century Trade Dollars; and Lucky Angel, inspired by the French 20-franc gold angel design by Augustin Dupré, the Paris mint’s 14th chief engraver. Her most recent works include her latest angel coin, two different EUR 2 coins issued by Luxembourg in January, and a round bar for the Year of the Dragon for Asahi Refining.