Legal tender
The Swiss franc is also the currency used for administrative and accounting purposes by most of the numerous international organisations that are headquartered in Switzerland.
Cupronickel
In Europe, Switzerland pioneered the nickel "billon" coinage in 1850, with the addition of silver. In 1968, Switzerland adopted the far cheaper 75:25 copper to nickel ratio then being used in Belgium, the United States, and Germany. From 1947 to 2012, all "silver" coinage in the UK was made from cupronickel, but from 2012 onwards the two smallest cupronickel denominations were replaced with lower-cost nickel-plated steel coins.