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50 Franken / Francs / Franchi
| Issuer | Kantonalbank von Bern |
|---|---|
| Year | 1883-1910 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Franken / Francs / Franchi |
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| Obverse description | Green intaglio-printed note with an elaborate guilloche border enclosing the central design. A standing allegorical female figure in classical attire occupies the left margin, while a putto vignette appears at the lower right. The denomination numeral "50" appears in counter boxes at top centre and lower centre, with the issuer's name "DIE KANTONALBANK VON BERN" and the value inscription "FÜNFZIG FRANKEN" rendered in bold letterpress text across the centre field. Place and date of issue "BERN 1. Oktober 1908" appear below the central text, flanked by handwritten signatures of the Bankpräsident and Director. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DIE KANTONALBANK VON BERN zahlt dem Überbringer, bei Sicht, FÜNFZIG FRANKEN in gesetzlicher Berechtschaft. BERN 1. Oktober 1908 BANKPRÄSIDENT DIREKTOR 50 |
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| Comments |
The Kantonalbank von Bern was one of dozens of Swiss cantonal banks authorized to issue private paper currency before the Swiss National Bank assumed the monopoly in 1907. This note belongs to the transitional period when existing cantonal circulation was gradually wound down — notes issued before the SNB's founding remained legal tender for a time but were systematically called in and destroyed, which accounts for the extreme scarcity of surviving specimens across the entire Swiss private issue series.
The trilingual denomination — Franken, Francs, Franchi — reflects the constitutional requirement to serve German, French, and Italian speakers, not any particular geographic reach of the Bernese institution itself.