13 November 2018
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The Federal Mint Swissmint have issued a 'Swiss Army Knife' silver coin to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of cutlery pioneer Karl Elsener. Elsener,
The Swiss 20-franc commemorative coin, designed by the graphic artist Nadja Baltensweiler from Lucerne, features a depiction of the world-famous Swiss Army Knife.
According to SwissMint:
'Karl Elsener developed a lighter and above all more elegant knife with even more functions. He called this pocket knife model the "Officer's and Sports Knife" and had it legally protected in 1897.'
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The coin gained its popularity after the Second World War when US soldiers based in Europe bought them in large quantities as a souvenir for their return home, and continued to grow in popularity into the 1970s as the souvenir market boomed. Today, the knives are created by the company Victorinox AG, now run by the fourth generation of the Elsener family.
