Catalog
100 Francs
| Issuer | Bank in Basel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1889-1905 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| 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) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Blue intaglio-printed note with a central text panel bearing the issuer name BANK IN BASEL and the denomination HUNDERT FRANKEN within fine guilloche surrounds. To the left, a standing allegorical female figure in classical robes anchors the composition, while to the right a putto amid decorative scrollwork balances the design; denomination numerals 100 appear in ornate cartouches at the left, right, and bottom centre. Three manuscript signatures appear below the date line, with printed role captions for Der Kassier, Der Präsident, and Der Direktor. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 100 100 CENT FRANCS HUNDERT FRANKEN CENTO FRANCHI 100 100 |
| 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 Basel" — formally the Bankverein in Basel — was one of several Swiss cantonal and private institutions that issued their own banknotes before the Swiss National Bank gained its monopoly in 1907. This 100 Francs note falls squarely in the transitional years when private issuance was still legal but increasingly contested, with the federal government pushing hard for centralization throughout the 1890s.
Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement is noteworthy — the New Malden firm was by this period the preferred security printer for numerous smaller European and colonial issuers who lacked the volume to justify domestic printing arrangements. The Basel bank's choice to contract London rather than a Swiss or German printer was a practical one, not a political statement.
Pick S147 is a scarcer entry; the series had a short effective window before federal reform ended private issue entirely.