Catalog
100 Gulden
| Issuer | Bank in St. Gallen |
|---|---|
| Year | 1838 |
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| Currency | Gulden (1798-1850) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is engraved in a classical early 19th-century intaglio style, centred on a vignette of two allegorical female figures seated atop a bale or chest, with a steamship visible in the background. Flanking the central vignette are four corner panels: two oval medallions bearing the numeral '100' on the left and two circular guilloche vignettes of an industrial or harbour scene on the right, each surmounted by the word 'HUNDERT'. The bold blackletter legend reads 'Die Bank in St. Gallen zahlt dem Ueberbringer gegen diese Anweisung HUNDERT GULDEN', with manuscript spaces for the date and signatures of the Cashier and President. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Die Bank in St. Gallen zahlt dem Ueberbringer gegen diese Anweisung HUNDERT GULDEN im Vier und Zwanzig Cr. den Fuss. St. Gallen den Cafs' Pres' |
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| Comments |
The Bank in St. Gallen was one of several cantonal and private note-issuing institutions that proliferated in Switzerland before the Federal Banking Act of 1881 consolidated and eventually eliminated their right of issue. In the 1830s, Swiss private banknote circulation was essentially unregulated at the federal level — each canton handled its own arrangements, and a 100 Gulden denomination would have represented a substantial sum, aimed at commercial rather than retail use.
The Gulden was already an awkward unit by 1838, with the Swiss franc gaining ground as the preferred accounting currency in many cantons. Notes denominated in Gulden from this period often had short practical lives before redenomination rendered them obsolete.