Catalog
100 Franken
| Issuer | Graubündner Kantonalbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1878 |
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| Value | 100 Franken |
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| Obverse description | Light blue note with a central panel bearing the bank title in Gothic script and the denomination 'Ein Hundert Franken' in large ornate lettering, dated 'Chur, den 1 October 1878'. Two rectangular vignettes flank the central text: the left vignette shows an Alpine landscape with a chapel or monument amid mountains and trees, and the right vignette depicts a mountainous scene with bears in the foreground. The four corners each carry the numeral '100' within guilloche frames, and the note bears the serial number and 'Serie C.' designation at top and bottom. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Die Graubündner Kantonalbank zahlt gegen diese Note Ein Hundert Franken. Chur, den 1 October 1878 Der Präsident Der Director Der Staatskassier Serie C. N°16408 |
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| Comments |
The Graubündner Kantonalbank was one of several Swiss cantonal banks granted note-issuing rights under the 1852 federal framework, before the Swiss National Bank consolidated that privilege in 1907. This 100 Franken note predates that centralization by three decades, placing it squarely in the pluralist era of Swiss private and cantonal emission — a period when more than thirty separate institutions circulated their own paper across the confederation.
Graubünden's geographic isolation and heavy reliance on seasonal alpine trade gave cantonal notes a practical role that persisted longer here than in more urbanized cantons. Surviving examples from this 1878 issue are genuinely uncommon; the 1907 redemption process swept up most outstanding stock.