20 Franchi

The Banca della Svizzera Italiana was one of several cantonal and private banks issuing notes in Ticino during the period before the Swiss National Bank's monopoly was established in 1907. This 20 Franchi note predates that consolidation by over three decades, placing it squarely in Switzerland's era of competitive private note issuance — a system the Swiss called "Zettelbanken." The BSI itself was founded in 1873, making this a very early emission from an institution barely a year old at time of printing.

Printed locally in Lugano rather than sent abroad to a specialist security printer, the note relies on a watermark as its primary — and apparently sole — anti-counterfeiting measure. Thin security coverage for a private circulating note.