Catalog
100 Francs
| Issuer | Banque du Commerce, Geneva |
|---|---|
| Year | 1874 |
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| Shape | Rectangular (hand cut) |
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| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DU COMMERCE. IL SERA PAYÉ EN ESPÈCES, A VUE, AU PORTEUR. cent francs. Création du 5 Janvier 1874. GENEVE. Série M. L'Régent, L'Censeur, L'Directeur. LA LOI PUNIT LE CONTREFACTEUR DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS. BANQUE DU COMMERCE GENÈVE. |
| Reverse description | Plain unprinted paper stock with a large central guilloché panel in orange-gold tones enclosing the bold numeral 100 in ornate interlocking figures, all set within an elongated lozenge-shaped frame. The field surrounding the central panel carries a faint all-over wave-pattern underprint in pale blue-grey. A small ink circular cancellation stamp of the Canton de Genève appears in the upper right corner, and the printer's imprint is set in small roman type at the lower centre margin. |
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| Comments |
Giesecke & Devrient's involvement here is worth noting — by 1874 the Leipzig firm was still consolidating its reputation as a European security printer, and commissions from private Swiss cantonal banks formed a meaningful part of that early portfolio. The Banque du Commerce was a Geneva commercial bank operating in a Swiss monetary environment that would not achieve full federal consolidation until the Swiss National Bank's founding in 1907, meaning private institutions still issued their own notes well into this period.
Collector availability is limited. The Banque du Commerce never achieved the note circulation volumes of the larger cantonal institutions, and survival rates for high-denomination private Swiss issues from this decade are correspondingly low.