Catalog
10 Francs
| Issuer | Toggenburger Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S466 |
| Obverse description | The obverse bears the bank title "Die Toggenburger Bank" in bold Gothic script across the top, flanked by two ornate circular guilloche medallions enclosing the numeral "10" on either side. A central vignette presents a panoramic townscape of Lichtensteig set against a hilly backdrop, framed by fine engraved borders. To the lower left, an allegorical female figure is seated at a spinning wheel, while a second draped allegorical figure appears at the lower right, with the denomination "ZEHN FRANKEN" inscribed in large letters between them above the date and signature lines. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 10 Die Toggenburger Bank 10 in LICHTENSTEIG zahlt gegen diesen CASSASCHEIN ZEHN FRANKEN LICHTENSTEIG, den 23 April 1881 Der Cassier: Der Präsident: Der Director: |
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| Comments |
The Toggenburger Bank was a regional cantonal institution based in Lichtensteig, a small market town in the Toggenburg valley of canton St. Gallen. In 1881 Switzerland had no federal central bank — that wouldn't arrive until the Swiss National Bank's founding in 1907 — leaving note issuance to a patchwork of cantonal and private banks, each printing for their own territory and trading relationships.
Lichtensteig as both seat and print location is unusual; most Swiss regional banks of this period contracted out to established printers in Zürich or Basel. That this note was produced locally suggests either a cost decision or a deliberate assertion of institutional independence.