Catalog
20 Francs 5th series
| Issuer | Swiss National Bank |
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| Year | 1954-1976 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 155 × 85 mm |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait of General Guillaume Henri-Dufour in three-quarter view at right, set within an elaborate guilloche rosette. The centre of the note carries the denomination in script lettering in all three Swiss national languages — Vingt Francs, Venti Franchi, and Zwanzig Franken — over a multicolour guilloche underprint of interlocking geometric lathe-work patterns in blue, orange, green and purple. Three facsimile signature lines appear at the foot, identifying the President of the Bank Council, the Chief Cashier, and a Member of the Directorate, with the place and date of issue inscribed above them. |
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| Reverse lettering | SCHWEIZERISCHE NATIONALBANK BANCA NAZIONALE SVIZZERA BANCA NAZIONALE SVIZZERA BANQUE NATIONALE SUISSE 20 ORELL FÜSSLI ARTS GRAPHIQUES S.A. ZÜRICH |
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| Comments |
The fifth series was conceived in the late 1930s but shelved during the war years; notes finally entered circulation only in the mid-1950s after prolonged revision. Hermann Eidenbenz, better known for his graphic design and typography work, produced designs of unusual restraint for Swiss currency of the period — Orell Füssli's engravers then translated those into intaglio with characteristic precision.
The sheer volume of signature combinations — over seventy across twenty-two print dates — reflects the SNB's strict practice of dating notes to board-approval sessions rather than actual release, with three concurrent signatories required at all times. The 1967 changeover from Kunz to Aebersold as third signatory is the most useful dividing point for collectors working through the series. Final issue date of 09.04.1976 preceded demonetization well into the 1980s.