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5 Francs - Federal Treasury German text
| Issuer | Swiss Federal Treasury (Eidgenössische Staatskasse) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Printed in blue on uncoloured paper, the obverse carries a vignette of Libertas at left and a vignette of Arnold Winkelried at right, with the Swiss federal arms at top centre. The German-language treasury text — promising payment to the bearer of five francs in legal tender — is dated 10 August 1914, with the issuer designation EIDG STAATSKASSE below the central inscription. Numeral 5 counters appear at the lower corners, and the overall layout reflects a restrained, formal engraved style consistent with emergency wartime issue. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 5 CINQ FRANCS FÜNF FRANKEN CINQUE FRANCHI 5 |
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| Comments |
Switzerland entered World War One as a neutral state but faced an immediate monetary shock: gold hoarding began within days of the July Crisis, and the Swiss National Bank suspended convertibility in early August 1914. These federal treasury notes — issued directly by the Confederation rather than the SNB — were an emergency response to the sudden drain on coin and the paralysis of normal banking flows. The series came in French, German, and Italian text variants to cover the linguistic regions, which is why this specific German-language version exists as a distinct catalogued type.
Ernst Stückelberg, a Basel painter better known for monumental historical canvases, was an unconventional choice for a banknote commission. The notes were printed at the federal printing works in Bern rather than contracted abroad, an unusual but deliberate wartime decision.