Catalog
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| Issuer | Königlich Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechsel-Bank (Royal Bavarian Mortgage and Exchange Bank) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1866 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Gulden (1857-1873) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Blue-tinted centered underprint with the denomination numeral appearing in all four corners. At top center, a heraldic vignette presents two rampant Bavarian lions flanking the lozenge-patterned Bavarian coat of arms. The lower left and right corners bear embossed heads of female allegorical figurines in profile, facing inward toward each other. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Protection type | Embossed seal |
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| Comments |
The Königlich Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechsel-Bank was founded in 1835 as a dual-purpose institution — simultaneously a mortgage lender and a commercial bank of issue, an unusual structural combination that reflected Bavaria's particular approach to banking reform in the Zollverein period. By 1866, the year this note was issued, Bavaria was weeks away from the Austro-Prussian War, which would decisively redraw German political alignments and ultimately pressure Bavarian banking autonomy.
The choice of Carl Naumann's Frankfurt press for a Bavarian royal bank note is worth noting — Frankfurt was the financial capital of the German states, and Naumann handled security printing for multiple issuers across the confederation. The embossed seal was the primary anti-counterfeiting measure, a mechanical authentication method already considered conservative by 1866 standards.