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50 Franken / Francs / Franchi
| Issuer | Bank in Basel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1876 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Pink and brown note with an elaborate engraved border incorporating ornate guilloche work and rosette medallions at the corners. A central oval vignette at the top bears a female allegorical bust, flanked left and right by large standing cherub or putto figures supporting the frame. The denomination numeral 50 appears in each corner, with the issuer's name and the value in German script occupying the central field above three signature lines for Direktor, Präsident, and Direktor. The lower border carries the denomination in French and Italian, with a Swiss cross cartouche at center bottom. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Lightly printed reverse in pale brown tones, largely plain in appearance with faint text laid out in three horizontal bands across the centre of the note. The overall design is minimal, relying on the typeset lettering against unadorned paper. |
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| Comments |
The Bank in Basel was one of several Swiss cantonal and private banks of issue still operating before the Swiss National Bank's eventual monopoly — Switzerland did not centralize its note-issuing authority until 1907. This 50-Franken note from 1876 belongs to a period when the franc had only recently been standardized across the Confederation under the Latin Monetary Union agreement of 1865, and private banks were still adapting their emissions to the new unit of account.
The trilingual denomination — Franken, Francs, Franchi — reflects not house style but legal requirement, accommodating Switzerland's German, French, and Italian linguistic regions simultaneously on a single instrument.