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100 Mark Die Frankfurter Bank
| Issuer | Die Frankfurter Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1890 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 100 Mark |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in blue and black intaglio on cream paper, with two oval vignettes flanking the central text — each enclosing a finely engraved female portrait bust in traditional headdress, set within elaborate wreath and ribbon surrounds with crossed staffs. Blue guilloche roundels bearing the numeral '100' appear at upper left and right, with serial number cartouches at lower left and right. The centre carries the issuer's name in bold letterpress at the top, the denomination 'Hundert Mark' in ornate Gothic script, an imperial eagle underprint, the place and date of issue, and two manuscript signatures below the title 'Die Bankdirection'. Two additional circular intaglio vignettes appear at the lower centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Dense machine-engraved guilloche pattern covering the full reverse field in orange, serving as an anti-counterfeiting underprint. |
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| Comments |
Die Frankfurter Bank was one of a handful of German private issuing banks still operating under the transitional framework that followed unification in 1871. The Reichsbank had been established in 1876 specifically to consolidate and eventually eliminate these regional note-issuing privileges, and by 1890 the pressure on private issuers was already acute. Frankfurt's bank held on longer than most, but its circulation rights were formally extinguished in 1901.
The guilloche underprint was the era's primary mechanical deterrent against lithographic counterfeiting — engine-turned lathe work that was genuinely difficult to reproduce by hand.