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1000 Francs 1st series
| Issuer | Schweizerische Nationalbank (Swiss National Bank) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1907 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 1000 SCHWEIZERISCHE NATIONALBANK BANQUE NATIONALE SUISSE • BANCA NAZIONALE SVIZZERA (GESETZ VOM 6. OKTOBER 1905) TAUSEND FRANKEN MILLE FRANCS • MILLE FRANCHI 1000 BERN & ZÜRICH, 1. FEBRUAR 1907 DER HAUPTKASSIER: DER PRÄSIDENT DES BANKRATES: EIN MITGLIED DES DIREKTORIUMS: 1000 BRADBURY, WILKINSON & CO LONDRES. |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 1000 1000 MILLE FRANCS TAUSEND FRANKEN MILLE FRANCHI 1000 1000 |
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| Comments |
Switzerland's first banknote series was commissioned before the Swiss National Bank even opened its doors — the SNB was established in 1907, and these notes had to be ready at inception, which meant sourcing a printer abroad while domestic infrastructure was still being arranged. Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. in New Malden, Surrey handled the work, a logical choice given their reputation for intaglio security printing across multiple European central banks at the time.
The 1000 Franc denomination was the highest in the inaugural series and almost never appeared in everyday commerce. At that value in 1907, it functioned primarily as an interbank instrument. Josef von Storck was a Viennese professor of decorative arts whose involvement points to the decidedly Austrian aesthetic influence on early Swiss note design — a detail that sits oddly against the finished product's English manufacture.