- Federer became the first living person to be immortalized in the form of a Swiss coin earlier this week after the government announced it is producing a 20 franc ($20) silver coin in honour of his career.
- 55,000 were due to go on sale on December 2, however the website crashed after only 15,000 sales as it was unable to cope with the amount of traffic.
- "We expected and planned for high demand, but we never imagined it would be this big," Swissmint CEO Marius Haldimann told ATP Tour. "We had 2.5 million clicks. It was too much for the shop to handle."
- Federer said on Twitter that having a coin made to celebrate his career was an "incredible honour."
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The website selling Roger Federer's commemorative Swiss coin crashed after receiving 2.5 million clicks from keen customers.
Federer Coin
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The website selling Roger Federer's commemorative Swiss coin crashed after receiving 2.5 million clicks from keen customers.
The 38-year-old became the first living person to be immortalized in the form of a Swiss coin earlier this week.
The Swiss government announced that it is producing a 20 franc ($20) silver coin in honour of the tennis superstar's career, which will be issued in January.
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55,000 were due to go on sale on December 2, however fans were let down as the manufacturer's website was unable to cope with the demand.
"We had 2.5 million clicks. It was too much for the shop to handle," Swissmint CEO Marius Haldimann told ATP Tour.
"We expected and planned for high demand, but we never imagined it would be this big. When Roger posted a link on his social media channels the website immediately had problems due to all the traffic. Some fans could access the shop but could not finish the order. Others could not get onto the website."
15,000 coins were sold in the window before the website crashed, ATP Tour reports, while the remaining 40,000 are expected to fly out of the online store once it returns to full functionality.
A further 40,000 may also be produced next year depending on demand, while a 50 franc ($50) coin bearing Federer's face is also in the works, says Swissmint.
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Fans are still unable to purchase the coin at present, however Haldimann insists his company is doing everything it can to resolve the problem swiftly.
"We are just asking fans to be patient and keep trying the website. We are working hard to resolve the problem as quickly as possible."
Federer said on Twitter that having a coin made to celebrate his career was an "incredible honour."
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