瑞士奇蹟：金錢

在有關瑞士身份的八部分系列的最後一篇中，我們輕鬆地探討了瑞士人對金錢的態度。

Switzerland’s five-centime coin is not exactly a crowd-pleaser. But despite being practically useless, more of them have been minted over the past decade than any other Swiss coin.

瑞士的五生丁硬幣並不討喜。儘管實際上毫無用處，但過去十年中鑄造的瑞士硬幣比任何其他瑞士硬幣都多。

The Swiss love money, or so the saying goes. The second part of this cliché is up for debate, but the first seems to correspond to reality. Just look at how excited many people get about the latest series of banknotes and how the website of the national mint, Swissmint, illustrates each series with anecdotes and quirky facts about its production.

俗話說，瑞士人愛錢。這個陳腔濫調的第二部分有待爭論，但第一部分似乎符合現實。只要看看許多人對最新系列紙幣感到多麼興奮，以及國家造幣廠 Swissmint 的網站如何用有關其生產的軼事和離奇事實來說明每個系列就可以了。

However, it has to be said that not every coin and not every banknote enjoys the same affection or notoriety. One of the “stars” of Swiss numismatics is without doubt the five-franc coin, which features the face of a shepherd (no, it’s not William Tell) with the smug expression of someone who knows his value. The “fiver” is also almost exaggeratedly large and wouldn’t look out of place in a pirate’s coffers along with gold doubloons; more than a few can cause problems for even the most capacious wallet.

然而，必須指出的是，並非每種硬幣和紙幣都享有同樣的喜愛或惡名。瑞士錢幣學的「明星」之一無疑是五法郎硬幣，它的頭像是牧羊人（不，不是威廉泰爾），臉上帶著自鳴得意的表情，就像一個知道自己價值的人。 「五塊錢」的尺寸也幾乎被誇大了，與達布隆金幣放在海盜的金庫裡並不會顯得格格不入。即使是最充裕的錢包，超過幾個也會帶來問題。

And then there’s the mystic aura surrounding the 1,000-franc note, the highest-value note in the world. Few are ever seen, but they represent as much as 57% of the value of all Swiss banknotes in circulation. Some say its existence facilitates money laundering (a briefcase stuffed with 1,000-franc notes contains as much money as about five briefcases with 200-euro notes), but attempts to abolish it have come to nothing.

此外，世界上面值最高的 1,000 法郎紙幣也散發著神秘的光環。雖然很少有人見過，但它們佔所有流通瑞士紙幣價值的 57%。有人說它的存在助長了洗錢活動（一個裝滿 1000 法郎紙幣的公文包裡的錢相當於五個裝有 200 歐元紙幣的公文包），但廢除它的嘗試卻沒有成功。

Let’s not forget the diminutive half-franc coin. Careful, it’s not the 50-centime/Rappen coin: it is in fact engraved with the inscription “½ Fr”.

我們不要忘記小型的半法郎硬幣。小心，這不是 50 生丁/Rappen 硬幣：它實際上刻有“½ Fr”字樣。

Even the coin that at first glance seems less special, the ten-centime/Rappen coin, gained fame when it entered the Guinness World Records in 2021 as the oldest original coin in circulation. It has had the same minting since 1879 and the earliest examples are still in use.

即使是乍看之下似乎不那麼特別的硬幣，十生丁/拉彭硬幣，在 2021 年作為流通中最古老的原始硬幣進入吉尼斯世界紀錄時也名聲大噪。自 1879 年以來一直有相同的鑄造，最早的例子仍在使用中。

But then there’s the five-centime/Rappen coin. Despite its distinctive gold livery, the coin with the lowest value in Switzerland – it’s worth about a nickel in the US – is most probably also the least popular. The reason, of course, is its impracticality. These coins are not accepted by vending machines and people give you a dirty look if you start counting them out in shops. Children like them for their distinctive colour, but little more.

但還有五生分/拉彭硬幣。儘管具有獨特的金色外觀，但在瑞士價值最低的硬幣（在美國大約值五分錢）很可能也是最不受歡迎的。原因當然是它的不切實際。自動販賣機不接受這些硬幣，如果您開始在商店裡數硬幣，人們會用骯髒的眼光看您。孩子們喜歡它們獨特的顏色，但僅此而已。

Yet there are currently 1.34 billion of them in circulation, 25% more than ten years ago. No other Swiss currency has grown as much in number.

但目前流通量為 13.4 億枚，比 10 年前增加了 25%。沒有其他瑞士貨幣的數量增長如此之多。

This is a surprising figure, especially in the age of cashless payments, but one that has a logical explanation, according to a recent article by Swiss public radio, SRF.

根據瑞士公共廣播電台 SRF 最近的一篇文章，這是一個令人驚訝的數字，尤其是在無現金支付時代，但這個數字有一個合乎邏輯的解釋。

Unlike other coins, which easily re-enter the monetary cycle via shops, the sad fate of the five-centime/Rappen coin is to end up gathering dust in a drawer, crammed into the jars of the many child collectors or pocketed by tourists who want an unobtrusive souvenir. In short, they’re out of action.

與其他透過商店輕鬆重新進入貨幣循環的硬幣不同，五生分/拉彭硬幣的悲慘命運是最終在抽屜裡積滿灰塵，塞進許多兒童收藏家的罐子裡，或者被遊客裝進口袋。要一個不引人注目的紀念品。簡而言之，他們沒有行動。

As a result, they have to be put back into circulation. This year Swissmint will produce 26 million of them, at a cost this year of 4.8 centime/Rappen each. Last year, at 6.9 centime/Rappen, it actually cost more to make the coin than it was nominally worth.

因此，它們必須重新投入流通。今年 Swissmint 將生產 2,600 萬枚，每枚的成本為 4.8 生丁/Rappen。去年，每拉彭幣的價格為 6.9 生丁，實際上製造這枚硬幣的成本高於其名義價值。

For these reasons, some people would welcome the death of the five-centime/Rappen coin.

基於這些原因，有些人會歡迎五生丁/拉彭硬幣的消亡。

On a political level, it was last discussed ten years ago, when a motion to that effect was tabled in the House of Representatives. The motion was supported by the Swiss business association economiesuisse and the Swiss Federal Railways but was opposed by consumer protection associations, which feared a rounding up of prices. In the end, the motion was rejected.

在政治層面上，上一次討論這個問題是在十年前，當時眾議院提出了一項動議。該動議得到了瑞士商業協會economicsuisse和瑞士聯邦鐵路的支持，但遭到了消費者保護協會的反對，該協會擔心價格會被四捨五入。最終，該動議被否決。

However, perhaps it will be discussed again soon, also in light of the fact that today only 36% of daily transactions in Switzerland are still made with cash, compared to 70% in 2017.

然而，也許很快就會再次討論這個問題，因為目前瑞士只有 36% 的日常交易仍然是用現金進行的，而 2017 年這一比例為 70%。

In any case, given the slowness of Swiss politics – and the fact that there are probably more important problems to think about – the drawers of Swiss households will probably continue to fill up with five-centime/Rappen coins for a long time to come.

無論如何，考慮到瑞士政治的緩慢 — — 以及可能還有更重要的問題需要考慮 — — 瑞士家庭的抽屜可能會在未來很長一段時間內繼續裝滿五生丁/拉彭硬幣。