“St. Nicholas”
Special Coin

Is red really the traditional colour for “Samichlaus”?
We are positive that it is, because the fabled Bishop Nicholas of Myra is said to have worn a red bishop’s robe. Reason enough to use the typical “Samichlaus” red (proof quality only) on the “St. Nicholaus” special coin. After the coins have been minted at Swissmint in Bern, they are transported to the Pamp company in Ticino to be printed using digital printers. This process requires digital data for the areas to be printed. A camera is used to detect the position of the coin on the printer and the areas to which colour is to be applied. For an intense luminosity, the areas to be printed are primed with white paint before the Samichlaus red is printed.

The printer can colour more than 20 coins at a time, and the process takes only a few minutes. Since the paint dries immediately, no drying time is required.