Some employees are no longer allowed to bid After the Goldvreneli chaos, the Confederation takes action
The Federal Finance Administration is reacting to the mishaps surrounding the 100-franc gold Vreneli. Following internal investigations, it is restricting the purchase of coins for its own employees - and is now examining a completely new distribution model.
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- The financial administration classifies the collapse of the Swissmint webshop as a "system and process failure" - not as individual misconduct.
- For the time being, employees of Swissmint and the FFA are no longer allowed to bid for special coins that are in high demand in order to rule out any form of preferential treatment.
- The Confederation is now examining whether exclusive coins should be sold via auctions in future instead of the previous "first come, first served" system.
The furor surrounding the new 100-franc gold vreneli has forced the Confederation to make initial reforms. In an internal report, the Federal Finance Administration (FFA) reveals what led to the collapse of the Swissmint web store - and why the hype ended in an IT debacle on July 1. At the same time, it announces measures to make access to commemorative coins fairer, as first reported by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper
As the FFA notes, the rush for the mere 2500 gold coins available was significantly higher than expected. Despite technical preparations, the server capacities were too weak, the malfunction was not recorded accurately by the external operator - and the problem was recognized too late. The FFA does not attribute any specific blame to anyone: they speak of a "system and process failure".
Sales model also up for debate
A key innovation concerns access to particularly sought-after issues. In future, employees of Swissmint and the FFA will be excluded from purchasing on a case-by-case basis. The aim is to "rule out any appearance of preferential treatment", according to the statement. The move is in response to criticism from collectors, who have long suspected that federal employees have privileged access to limited edition coins.
Another detail has been the subject of additional criticism for years: 27 certified dealers are allowed to purchase three copies of each new series before anyone else. This means that almost 100 coins are already allocated before the web store even opens. Whether this preferential right will remain in place in future is now being reviewed.
The sales model itself is also up for debate. Instead of the previous "first come, first served", the tax authorities are considering an auction process. This would mean that price and distribution would no longer depend solely on click luck and server capacity. However, this could put collectors with smaller budgets at an even greater disadvantage.
