Catalog
500 Francs
| Issuer | Spar- & Leih-Cassa des Kantons Luzern |
|---|---|
| Year | 1876 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Francs |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 500 500 BANQUE LUCERNE 500 500 |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Spar- & Leih-Cassa des Kantons Luzern was a cantonal savings and loan institution, not a commercial bank, and its issuance of large-denomination paper currency in the 1870s reflects the fragmented Swiss monetary system that persisted until the Swiss National Bank's establishment in 1907. Each canton effectively managed its own credit instruments well into the federal era.
Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement is the sharpest point of interest here. The London firm held contracts across dozens of small European issuers precisely because domestic printers rarely had the intaglio capacity for secure banknote work at this scale. At 500 Francs, this was not everyday spending money — it circulated, if at all, almost exclusively in commercial transactions between institutions.