10 Francs pattern

Die Bank in Glarus was one of the smaller Swiss cantonal banks operating before the Confederation assumed sole note-issuing authority. This piece is a pattern — a submission or approval proof, not a circulating note — which means it was produced to demonstrate the design before final authorization, almost certainly never reaching the public.

The 1870s were a turbulent decade for Swiss private note issuance. The Federal Banking Law of 1881 ultimately forced cantonal and private banks out of the business entirely, and the Swiss National Bank absorbed that function after 1907. Pattern notes from this transitional period are rare simply because so few were made.