Catalog
500 Franken / Francs / Franchi
| Issuer | Bank in Basel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1876 |
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| Reference(s) | P#145B |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DIE BANK IN BASEL Fünfhundert Franken IN SCHWEIZERWÄHRUNG CINQ CENTS FRANCS CINQUECENTO FRANCHI 500 Emission vom Jahre 1879 Cassier Präsident Director |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a light intaglio impression on plain cotton paper, with the text arranged in three arched lines across the centre of an otherwise unadorned field, relying on the typography alone for its design composition. |
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| Comments |
The Bank in Basel — Banque de Bâle — was one of the last Swiss cantonal or private note-issuing banks still operating before the Confederation moved to consolidate currency issuance under the Swiss National Bank, finally established in 1907. Notes of this type circulated alongside dozens of competing issues, a situation the federal authorities had been trying to resolve since the Currency Act of 1850 forced at least a degree of standardization on denominations.
A 500-franc private bank note from 1876 Switzerland would have represented a substantial commercial instrument, not retail currency. These moved between merchants and institutions, rarely touching ordinary hands — which cuts both ways on survival rates.