The coin's obverse features Helvetia, the allegorical female symbol of Switzerland, standing in her toga, spear and shield in her hands, and surrounded by 22 stars representing the 22 cantons of the country.
This coin became increasingly rare in the late 1960s when a run on silver drove the melt value above the face value. Around 100 tons of 1/2-2 France coins were illegally melted.