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50 Francs 1st series
| Issuer | Swiss National Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1907 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Franc (1850-date) |
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| Obverse description | Green intaglio print over yellow-orange underprint with red serial numbers and overprint. At left, a full-length vignette of standing Helvetia facing right, wearing a diadem inscribed HELVETIA, holding a sword in her right hand and resting against a shield bearing the Swiss coat of arms; a putto in the lower right holds a rectangular cartouche with the denomination value. A red rosette with the Swiss cross appears in the upper right, and the central inscriptions are enclosed within a bound oval laurel wreath. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 50 SCHWEIZERISCHE NATIONALBANK BANQUE NATIONALE SUISSE • BANCA NATIONALE SVIZZERA (GESETZ VOM 6. OKTOBER 1905) FÜNFZIG FRANKEN CINQUANTE FRANCS • CINQUANTA FRANCHI 50 BERN & ZÜRICH, 1.FEBRUAR 1907 DER PRÄSIDENT DES BANKRATES: DER HAUPTKASSIER: EIN MITGLIED DES DIREKTORIUMS: 50 BRADBURY, WILKINSON & CO LONDRES. |
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| Comments |
Switzerland's first unified paper currency series launched in 1907, ending decades of fractured note issuance by cantonal banks and private institutions — a system that had produced over thirty different circulating note types simultaneously. The Swiss National Bank had only received its federal charter in 1905, and these inaugural notes were printed abroad at Bradbury Wilkinson in London while domestic printing infrastructure was still absent.
The design collaboration between Albert Walch and Josef von Storck drew on established Viennese decorative traditions; von Storck was a prominent Austrian arts educator rather than a professional banknote designer. Pick #1 is among the rarest of the series — the 50 Francs denomination saw limited distribution before design revisions were already under discussion.