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50 Francs / Franken / Franchi
| Issuer | Banque Commerciale Neuchâteloise |
|---|---|
| Year | 1883-1907 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Francs / Franken / Franchi |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green, the reverse is dominated by two large circular guilloche medallions, each enclosing a portrait of a female head in profile, set symmetrically left and right within an intricate lathe-work frame. The denomination is stated in all three Swiss national languages in bold central text, with the numeral 50 repeated in each corner and within the surrounding guilloche bands. |
| Reverse lettering | CINQUANTE FRANCS FÜNFZIG FRANKEN CINQUANTA FRANCHI 50 |
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| Comments |
The Banque Commerciale Neuchâteloise was one of some thirty cantonal and regional note-issuing banks operating in Switzerland before the Schweizerische Nationalbank absorbed the right of issue in 1907. That concentration of private issuance meant notes circulated primarily within tight regional boundaries — a 50-franc instrument from Neuchâtel would rarely have been accepted at face value in Zurich or Geneva without a discount.
The trilingual denomination line — Francs, Franken, Franchi — reflects the Swiss constitutional requirement that official instruments acknowledge all three national languages, not any particular ambition of the issuing bank. The series ran across nearly a quarter century, which typically means multiple printing states and signature combinations exist across surviving examples.