Special coin
Animal of the Year:
The Hedgehog
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.
Obverse
The obverse features three hedgehogs. In the lower half, two hedgehogs are moving towards each other across a field covered with leaves and grass. In the background, a hedgehog looks directly into the eyes of the observer. Surrounding the image is the name of the coin, “animal of the year: hedgehog”, as well as the word “hedgehog” in the other three national languages. The hyphen between “animal of the year” and “hedgehog” is symbolised by two hedgehog footprints.
Reverse
The reverse focuses on the hedgehog’s nocturnal habits. The moon is depicted using the hedgehog’s spines, and stars are shown in the night sky alongside it. Around the edge of the coin is the inscription “CONFOEDERATIO HELVETICA”, the face value of CHF 10, the minting year 2026 and the mint mark B for Swissmint.
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.
