Rappen

The Swiss 5-Rappen coin
The Swiss 1-Rappen coin has not been valid since 2007.
Rappenpfennig from Freiburg im Breisgau, ca. 1290

A Rappen (pl. Rappen) originally was a variant of the medieval Pfennig ("penny") coin common to the Alemannic German regions Alsace, Sundgau, northern Switzerland and south-western Germany. As with other German pennies, its half-piece was a Haller, the smallest piece which was struck.

Today, one-hundredth of a Swiss franc is still officially called a Rappen in German and Swiss German and a rap in Romansh. In French-speaking Switzerland, the modern Swiss currency-unit is called a centime (pl. centimes) and in Italian-speaking Switzerland, a centesimo (pl. centesimi), respectively. Centime(s) is also used internationally or in languages other than the Swiss national languages.[1][2]

  1. ^ "Art. 1 Amtliche Bezeichnungen und Abkürzungen/Dénominations officielles et abréviations/Denominazioni ufficiali e abbreviazioni SR/RS 941.101 Münzverordnung/Ordonnance sur la monnaie/Ordinanza sulle monete, 12 April 2000 (MünzV/O sur la monnaie/OMon)" (federal act) (in German, French, and Italian). Berne, Switzerland: Federal Council. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  2. ^ "Style Guides for English-language translators" (PDF) (official site). Berne, Switzerland: Federal Chancellery. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 2019-07-03.