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100 Franken / Francs / Franchi
| Issuer | Bank in Zürich |
|---|---|
| Year | 1883-1892 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Blue-toned note with a classical allegorical female figure standing at left, rendered in intaglio, draped in robes and gesturing outward. The central text panel carries the issuer name 'BANK IN ZÜRICH' and denomination 'HUNDERT FRANKEN' in bold letterpress, flanked by the numeral '100' in each upper corner and at lower left and right; date 'Zürich 1. Juli 1883' and series and serial number appear in red. A putto vignette occupies the lower right, and the entire composition is framed by an intricate guilloche border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DIE BANK IN ZÜRICH zahlt dem Ueberbringer, bei Sicht, HUNDERT FRANKEN in gesetzlicher Baarschaft. ZÜRICH 1. Juli 1883. DER KASSIER DER DIREKTOR SERIE A¹ 100 |
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| Comments |
The Bank in Zürich was one of several dozen cantonal and private issuing banks operating in Switzerland before the Swiss National Bank's founding in 1907 consolidated the right of issue. This 100-franc note belongs to the competitive pluralist period when each bank backed its own notes and public confidence varied sharply between institutions. The trilingual denomination — German, French, Italian — reflects the federal compromise that governed Swiss commercial life long before a central authority existed to enforce uniformity.
Printed locally in Zürich rather than by one of the major European security printers, the production quality of these private-era Swiss notes is uneven across the series. Pick 608 is among the rarer survivors; most were redeemed and pulped after the transitional legislation of the 1890s began squeezing smaller issuers out of the market.