Catalog
100 Francs
| Issuer | St. Gallische Kantonalbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1883-1903 |
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| Designer(s) | Obverse: Joseph Storck, Albert Walch Reverse: Joseph Storck |
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| Reverse description | Blue intaglio-printed reverse dominated by two large circular guilloche medallions, each enclosing a classical female portrait bust in profile facing right, set against a dense lathe-work background. The trilingual denomination inscriptions 'CENT FRANCS', 'HUNDERT FRANKEN', and 'CENTO FRANCHI' are arranged horizontally in the central field between the two medallions. Corner cartouches in each of the four angles carry the numeral '100', with additional repeating denomination numerals within the guilloche bands surrounding the medallions. |
| Reverse lettering | 100 100 CENT FRANCS HUNDERT FRANKEN CENTO FRANCHI 100 100 |
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| Comments |
St. Gallische Kantonalbank was one of several Swiss cantonal banks issuing their own notes during the decentralized period before the Swiss National Bank's founding in 1907. This 100 Francs note falls squarely in that window — a two-decade span when individual cantons maintained independent circulation, and London-based security printers like Bradbury Wilkinson supplied much of the continent's fiduciary paper precisely because Swiss domestic capacity was limited and British intaglio standards were trusted.
Joseph Storck was a Viennese architect and decorative arts professor, an unusual choice for a banknote commission. His involvement, alongside Albert Walch, suggests the bank was reaching into the broader Central European design world rather than relying on the printer's in-house artists — a deliberate aesthetic choice that Bradbury Wilkinson would then execute in steel engraving.