The French abolished the sovereignty of the Swiss cantons in 1798 and decreed the formation of a centralized state, the Helvetic Republic. Coinage was standardized and for the first time in the history of Switzerland, a single currency was created. Modeled after the French currency, the Swiss money was based on the decimal system and divided into francs, batzen and rappens (centimes): one franc equaled 10 batzen or 100 rappens.