Swiss franc

The Swiss franc (ISO 4217: CHF or 756), CHF standing for the Conf?deratio Helvetica franc, is the currency of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is issued by the central bank of Switzerland, the Swiss National Bank.

Related Topics:
ISO 4217 - Currency - Switzerland - Liechtenstein - Central bank - Swiss National Bank

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The Swiss franc is the only currency named franc still issued in Europe. Its name in the four official languages of Switzerland: Franken (German), franc (French and Rhaeto-Romanic), and franco (Italian). The smaller denomination, which is worth a hundredth of a franc, is called Rappen in German, centime in French, centesimo in Italian and rap in Rhaeto-Romanic. The French names are used in English.

Related Topics:
Franc - German - French - Rhaeto-Romanic - Italian - Rappen

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As of January 1, 2005, the Swiss franc was worth US$ 0.858101 or ? 0.646289. Since mid-2003, it has been kept relatively stable to the Euro at a value of about 1.55 CHF per Euro, and so rises and falls against the U.S. dollar in tandem with the Euro. Despite the currency trading in the range of 80 to 90 U.S. cents, it has surprisingly little purchasing power: items tend to cost about twice as much in Switzerland as what they would in the United States (or Canada, whose dollar is worth about the same as the Swiss currency). This is due to the currency's wide usage as a reserve currency by entities throughout the world.

Related Topics:
January 1 - 2005 - US$ - ? - Canada - Dollar

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