10 Gulden

The Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechsel-Bank was founded in 1835 as a hybrid institution — simultaneously a mortgage bank and a commercial exchange bank — an unusual dual mandate that gave it note-issuing privileges alongside its lending operations. By the time this note was printed, Bavaria still operated its own banking system independent of any German federal framework, a situation that would be substantially curtailed after unification and the Reichsbank's eventual monopoly on note issuance in 1875.

Giesecke & Devrient had been established in Leipzig only thirteen years before this note was produced, but had already secured the kind of contracts that would define the firm for the next century and a half. The watermark security on this series was modest by later standards.