Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Bank in Zürich |
|---|---|
| Year | 1883-1890 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#S608 |
| Obverse description | The face presents a central text panel bearing the date, value, issuer name, and three signature lines within an elaborate ornamental frame entwined with an oval guilloche wreath of grapevines and grape clusters, flanked by cartouches bearing the value numeral above and below. To the left, a standing draped vignette of Libertas, the Roman goddess of Liberty, wearing a diadem and holding a shield, faces right; to the right, a kneeling putto supports a cartouche with the denomination. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The back is divided into three connected decorative frames in a horizontal arrangement; the central frame carries the denomination in three languages — French, German, and Italian — while each of the two outer circular frames contains a facing inward bust of Hermes in vignette style. Corner cartouches repeat the value numeral in each of the four angles. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Bank in Zürich was one of several Swiss cantonal and private banks of issue operating before the Swiss National Bank's establishment in 1907 effectively ended their note-issuing privileges. Bradbury Wilkinson's contract work for Swiss private banks during this period was fairly common — the firm handled security printing for numerous smaller issuers who lacked domestic facilities capable of producing adequately fraud-resistant notes.
The P#S608 prefix signals a private or regional issuer rather than a central authority, placing this squarely in Switzerland's fragmented pre-federal monetary period, when dozens of institutions circulated competing paper. The Bank in Zürich itself was wound down well before federation of note issue occurred.