50 Franken / Francs / Franchi

The eighth series of Swiss banknotes — of which this 50 Franken is part — was introduced on a rolling schedule beginning in 1995, with individual denominations phased in over nearly a decade. Zintzmeyer's design scheme organized the entire series around cultural and artistic themes rather than historical portraits, a sharp departure from Swiss practice at the time and one that drew considerable public debate before issue.

Orell Füssli in Zurich has printed Swiss notes continuously since the nineteenth century, making it one of the longest-running national printer relationships in European banking history. The security package on this series was considered among the more technically rigorous of its generation, incorporating optically variable ink before it became routine on European issues.