Catalog
20 Francs
| Issuer | Caisse d'Amortissement de la Dette Publique à Fribourg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1874 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | FRANCS 20 FRIBOURG, LE 18 20 FRANCS CAISSE D'AMORTISSEMENT de la dette publique À FRIBOURG Il sera payé à vue au porteur VINGT FRANCS Le Directeur: Le Président: Le Caissier: FRANCS Garantie de l'Etat Décret du 15 mai 1874. 20 |
| Reverse description | Uniform orange underprint covering the entire reverse, centred on a large elaborate guilloche rosette medallion surrounded by a ring of smaller interlocking lace-pattern ornaments, with two flanking circular guilloche medallions each bearing the numeral "20". A small shield or arms device appears at the centre of the main rosette. The overall design relies entirely on lathe-work guilloche patterns with no pictorial vignette. |
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| Comments |
The Caisse d'Amortissement de la Dette Publique was Fribourg's cantonal debt-redemption fund — not a commercial bank, and not a note-issuing institution in any conventional sense. That it produced circulating paper currency at all reflects the chaotic patchwork of Swiss cantonal monetary authority that persisted until the Confederation moved decisively to centralize issuance, culminating in the 1881 Bank Note Law and eventually the founding of the Swiss National Bank in 1907.
Fribourg's issues from this period are genuinely uncommon in any condition. The canton was small, the circulation limited, and redemption thorough.