Catalog
5 Francs
| Issuer | Banque Cantonale Vaudoise |
|---|---|
| Year | 1857-1860 |
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| Value | 5 Francs |
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| Obverse description | Plain typographic note printed in black on cream paper, with the bank title BANQUE CANTONALE VAUDOISE in bold letters across the top and the bearer clause IL SERA PAYÉ AU PORTEUR À PRÉSENTATION below. A central vignette bears the Canton of Vaud coat of arms within a cartouche flanked by foliate guilloche ornaments, with the denomination CINQ to the left and FRANcs to the right, and LAUSANNE inscribed beneath the shield. Three signature lines for the Caissier, the Président du Conseil Général, and the Directeur appear across the lower portion, with the handwritten date and serial number completing the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE CANTONALE VAUDOISE IL SERA PAYÉ AU PORTEUR À PRÉSENTATION CANTON DE VAUD LIBERTÉ ET PATRIE LAUSANNE CINQ FRANcs Le Caissier, Le Présid. du Conseil Général, Le Directeur, 1 Septembre 1857. |
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| Comments |
The Banque Cantonale Vaudoise was established in 1845 as one of the early cantonal banks created under Switzerland's post-1830 liberal constitutional reforms, which pushed financial authority toward the cantons rather than private banking houses. These 5 Franc notes from the late 1850s predate the federal banking consolidation that would eventually render cantonal currency issuance obsolete — Swiss federal unification of the note-issuing system was a slow, contested process that dragged well into the 1870s and beyond.
Printed locally in Lausanne rather than sent abroad to a major security printer, a detail that distinguishes this series from many contemporary Swiss cantonal issues that relied on French or German firms.