20 Francs - Federal Treasury Italian text

Switzerland's Federal Treasury — not the Swiss National Bank — issued this note as an emergency measure in August 1914, days after the outbreak of the First World War triggered a run on gold and forced suspension of specie payments. The SNB had only been operational since 1907 and lacked the infrastructure to respond alone; the Treasury stepped in with its own Kassenscheine series to plug the immediate liquidity gap.

Stückelberg, primarily known as a painter of historical murals, had designed the series before the war, which is why the notes carry an artist's sensibility rather than the more mechanical engraver's aesthetic typical of contemporary Swiss issues. The Italian-text variant served Switzerland's Ticino population and border commerce with Italy.