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100 Francs 4th series, reserve banknote
| Issuer | Swiss National Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941-1945 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Blue on multicolor underprint. The numeral 100 appears at left, with a vignette of a Haslital woman's portrait in intaglio at right. The face carries trilingual bank name inscriptions and denomination text in German, French, and Italian, with issuing signatures and date below. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Executed entirely in blue on a pale ground, the reverse is dominated by two large ornate guilloche medallions, each enclosing the numeral 100, positioned symmetrically at left and right. A central multicolor rosette guilloche in blue and red forms the focal point, surrounded by intricate lathe-work borders and decorative corner ornaments. The bank name is rendered in German at top and in French and Italian at the bottom, flanking a Swiss cross emblem. |
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| Comments |
The fourth series was designed in the late 1930s but held back entirely from circulation — hence "reserve issue." The Swiss National Bank printed and vaulted these notes as a contingency against wartime disruption, including the possibility that occupation might compromise the regular third series. Switzerland was never invaded, so the reserve stock was never needed in circulation and most examples were eventually destroyed through official channels.
Karl Bickel's intaglio work on this series is among the most technically accomplished Swiss banknote engraving of the period. The Orell Füssli firm had printed Swiss currency for decades, and the quality shows — but the sheer rarity of surviving P#43 examples today owes nothing to wear and everything to the destruction program that followed the postwar decision not to issue the series at all.