The Federal Mint Swissmint opened their new three-part Swiss glaciers series with the 10 Francs bimetallic commemorative coin “Morteratsch glacier”.
The Morteratsch glacier bimetallic coin marks the start of the three-part Swiss glaciers series. The obverse of the 10-franc coin shows the glacier nestled in the landscape and the outer ring reads “Vadret da Morteratsch enturn il 1820” (Morteratsch glacier around 1820 in Romansh). The coin was designed by Swissmint engraver, Remo Mascherini. The Rosenlaui glacier is planned as the next motif in 2023 and the Rhone glacier in 2024.
The Morteratsch glacier is one of the larger glaciers in the Alps and the largest in the Bernina region in the canton of Graubünden. It reached its peak extension during the Little Ice Age of the mid-19th century. Since then it has receded by about three kilometres in length, shrinking by about 40 meters a year. Meltwater flowing down has caused several caves to form under the glacier tongue, the end of the ice stream. In earlier times, the Morteratsch glacier stretched down into the valley, which is why it is also referred to as a valley glacier. Today, the glacier is still around 6.4km long and covers an area of 14.9km2.
You can find more information on the coin on the Swissmint website.
All coins of the Swiss Confederation can also be found in our database Cosmos of Collectibles.
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If you want to know exactly how Swiss coins are created at Swissmint, we recommend this article.
To get an idea on how the Morteratschgletscher has changed in the last 70 years, watch this drone video:
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If you love hiking, the Morteratsch glacier is a perfect destination, even for families.
