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1 Franc - State Loan Bank reserve banknote
| Issuer | Darlehenskasse der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (Swiss Federal Loan Bank) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Reference(s) | P#25 |
| Obverse description | Dark blue intaglio-printed note with an intricate guilloche underprint framing a large central numeral '1' vignette. The denomination 'EIN FRANKEN / UN FRANC / UNO FRANCO' is inscribed in the centre, with the issuing authority 'Darlehenskasse der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft' arched across the upper field beneath a Swiss cross shield. The lower portion bears the Bundesratsbeschluss date of 27 April 1915, facsimile signatures of the Eidgenössisches Finanzdepartement and Eidgenössische Staatskasse, and the printer's imprint of Orell Füssli, Zurich; two cancellation punch holes are visible at left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Dark blue intaglio reverse centred on a large guilloche medallion enclosing the numeral '1', with the trilingual denomination 'FRANC / FRANCO / FRANKEN' radiating around it. The issuing authority inscriptions 'CAISSE DE PRÊTS DE LA CONFÉDÉRATION SUISSE' and 'CASSA DI PRESTITI DELLA CONFEDERAZIONE SVIZZERA' curve along the upper and lower borders respectively, interspersed with ornate lathe-work corner pieces and a Swiss cross shield at the top centre. Two cancellation punch holes are present at the left edge. |
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| Comments |
Switzerland mobilized financially at the outbreak of World War One with unusual speed, and the Darlehenskasse notes were central to that response. The Federal Loan Bank was created specifically as a wartime credit institution, and its small-denomination notes were rushed into circulation to relieve a severe shortage of coin — hoarding had stripped the country of silver and gold within weeks of the July 1914 crisis. The 1 Franc sat at the bottom of the series, used for everyday transactions in a country that had never truly embraced fiduciary paper at that scale.
Orell Füssli had been printing Swiss security documents for decades, and the choice was predictable. The 1915 date marks the second year of sustained issue — demand for small notes had not eased by then, and coin remained scarce throughout the conflict. These notes were officially demonetized and withdrawn after the war, which gives surviving examples a clear expiry point in the historical record.