The white star of the edelweiss that everyone takes for a flower is in fact a false flower, a pseudanthium: the real blooms are the two to twelve cup-shaped heads of pale yellow florets at its centre. On 28 January 2016 the edelweiss opened «FLORA ALPINA», a three-part series of 10-franc commemoratives.

The series was designed by Bern graphic artist Jenny Leibundgut, born in Gümligen in 1959. She trained under the renowned Swiss graphic designer Kurt Wirth, worked at Landor Associates in San Francisco on international projects including the world-famous WWF logo, and has run her own design workshop in Bern since 1990.

The edelweiss stands for beauty, desire, honesty, purity and courage. Contrary to popular belief, it grows not only on rocks but also in Alpine pastures; overpicking has made wild plants a rarity.

The reverse carries the series title «FLORA ALPINA» and the signature «LEIBUNDGUT»; the obverse shows the Swiss cross, «CONFOEDERATIO HELVETICA», «10 FR», the date and the Bern mint mark B. After the edelweiss the series continued with the gentian in 2017 and the carline thistle in 2018.

UNC condition: never circulated, no wear, mint lustre preserved. For a collection of flowers on coins this is the very symbol of the Alps, and in the Swiss bimetallic line it is the first coin of the floral trilogy.

More coins from this country and this era are waiting in the VPcoins catalogue.