Catalog
10 Gulden
| Issuer | Bank in St. Gallen |
|---|---|
| Year | 1838 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is laid out in a symmetrical letterpress design with the large bold issuer title 'Die Bank in St. Gallen' as the central legend, beneath which the text 'zahlt dem Ueberbringer gegen diese Anweisung ZEHN GULDEN' is set in a formal typeface. Flanking the central text are four corner vignettes: a steamboat at lower left, a locomotive and industrial scene at lower right, and the numeral '10' in decorative ovals at each lower corner, while the upper centre carries an allegorical vignette of a putto or cherub figure resting against a safe or strongbox. The denomination 'ZEHN' appears in oval cartouches at both upper corners, and manuscript blanks for series, date, and authorising signatures are present in the lower portion. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Die Bank in St. Gallen zahlt dem Ueberbringer gegen diese Anweisung ZEHN GULDEN im Vier und Zwan... und Fürs. St. Gallen den Serie Cafs? Pros. ZEHN 10 |
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| Comments |
The Bank in St. Gallen was one of several cantonal and private note-issuing institutions operating in Switzerland before federal banking consolidation — a patchwork system that persisted until the Swiss National Bank's founding in 1907. Notes from this issuer are genuinely scarce; the bank's circulation was regional and limited, and most surviving examples have been absorbed into Swiss institutional collections rather than the open market.
Cotton substrate was universal for Swiss private bank paper of this period, but local printing — rather than engaging a specialist firm in Paris or London — was the deliberate choice of smaller cantonal issuers watching costs. Pick lists only one denomination for this bank.