1901 Luzern
Actual 45 mm size by Hans Frei, Basel.
Obverse.
Lady Helvetia, allegorical personification of the Confederacy, armored for battle. Blazon emblem of the Swiss Cross engraved proudly across her breastplate. Alpine-laurelled garland adorns her helmet, framing her noble head.
Her steely gaze is eastward bound, always ready, ever vigilant, to defend and protect the freedom and civil liberties of the Confederacy. As a Protector, she welcomes all who seek everlasting unity.
Backdrop scene of historic Schlachtkapelle (Battle Chapel) bears forever the memory of the site of erstwhile Battle of Sempach, where brave deeds of old have been engraved into the hearts of men. Of sworn brotherhood and fighting men on the march, of cherished values of the Confederacy, and defending Helvetia’s alpine lands. Turning loosely allied Confederacy into One unified nation, a vital turning point in the growth of Switzerland.
Reverse.
Heraldic blazon of Lucerne, floral lineage of the Canton, over the revered Cross, emblem insignia of the canton’s faith and trust in the unity, strength and protection offered by members of the Confederacy. Faithfully cradled by a singular floral laurel branch.
Background.
“Helvetia is the female national personification of Switzerland. The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing gown, with a spear and a shield emblazoned with the Swiss flag, and commonly with braided hair, and with a wreath as a symbol of confederation. That name is derived from the Celtic Helvetii people who first entered the area around 100 B.C. Helvetia was also the Roman name for the region that is now western Switzerland.
The fashion of depicting the Swiss Confederacy in terms of female allegories arises in the 17th century. This replaces an earlier convention, popular in the 1580s, of representing Switzerland as a bull (Schweizer Stier). In the first half of the 17th century, there was not a single allegory identified as Helvetia. Rather, a number of allegories, representing both virtues and vices of the confederacy.
Identification of the Swiss as "Helvetians" (Hélvetiens) becomes common in the 18th century, Helvetia appears in patriotic and political artwork in the context of the construction of a national history and identity in the early 19th century, after the disintegration of the Napoleonic Helvetic Republic, and she appears on official federal coins and stamps from the foundation of Switzerland as a federal state in 1848.”
Helvetia is an important emblematic female personification of Switzerland, and the virtues of everlasting brotherhood, peace, liberty and staunch unity of the Suisse Confederacy.