50 Franken / Francs / Franchi

The Banque du Commerce in Geneva was one of several Swiss cantonal and private banks still issuing their own notes in the 1880s, a practice the newly established Schweizerische Nationalbank would eventually bring to a halt after its founding in 1907 — the same year this series ended. The overlap is not coincidental. Federal pressure on note-issuing privileges intensified through the 1890s, and the Banque du Commerce's concession was among those wound down under the 1905 federal banking legislation that cleared the path for centralized issuance.

Geneva's position as a hub of international finance gave these notes wider regional acceptance than most Swiss private issues, but survival rates are low — extended circulation and the redemption requirements of 1910 saw most destroyed.