Roger Federer became the first living person to feature on a commemorative coin minted by Switzerland on Monday.

The Swissmint announced that they have launched a new 20-franc silver coin bearing the 20-time Grand Slam champion’s image.

In a statement, the Switzerland government said Federer is the best-known personality from the country both on and off the court. A photo of the coins showed an engraving of the 38-year-old hitting a backhand. The coins will be issued on January 23, 2020.

An “uncirculated quality” version of limited edition coin is up for pre-order online while the proof-quality coins will only be available from the issue date onward in January.

The massive demand for it crashed the Switzerland’s mint official website, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The pre-sale began on Monday 2 and will go till 19 December 2019 or until the first minting run of 55,000 units has sold out, according to ATP.

The mint plans to also release gold coins in Federer’s honour in May next year. The gold coins will be worth 50-franc.

“Roger Federer’s sporting achievements, his charitable commitments, his easy-going nature and his accessibility to his fans have prompted Swissmint to dedicate this 20-franc silver coin to him – the first time it has done so with a living person,” a Swissmint spokesperson told Reuters.

Federer thanked his country for the honours, sharing a video of the making of the coins on his social media pages.

Federer is “the perfect ambassador for Switzerland. He has a unique way of embodying likeability, down-to-earthness, success and eloquence,” the Swissmint wrote on its site.