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40 Francs 2nd series, reserve banknote
| Issuer | Schweizerische Nationalbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
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| Designer(s) | S. Balzer |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 40 SCHWEIZERISCHE NATIONALBANK BANCA NAZIONALE SVIZZERA BANQUE NATIONALE SUISSE VIERZIG FRANKEN QUARANTE FRANCS QUARANTA FRANCHI Gesetzgebung über die Schweiz. Nat. Bank Bern und Zürich, 1. September 1914. Der Präsident des Bankrates: Der Hauptkassier: Ein Mitglied des Direktoriums: 40 |
| Reverse description | Executed entirely in violet-grey intaglio and engine-turned guilloche work, the reverse presents a large central oval cartouche with the bold numeral 40 set within densely interlaced lathe-work patterns and a circular trilingual bank-name legend. A Swiss cross within an oval guilloche frame occupies the top centre, while the four corners each carry the denomination numeral 40 within elaborate rosette and fan-pattern guilloche panels. No pictorial vignette is present; the entire field is filled with intricate underprint geometry. |
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| Comments |
Switzerland declared mobilization on 1 August 1914, the same day Germany declared war on Russia. The Nationalbank had prepared a reserve series precisely for this contingency — notes held back from normal circulation and released only under conditions of monetary stress. The 40 Franc denomination itself is a curiosity: Switzerland used it in no other peacetime series, and its existence reflects specific calculations about what denominations a wartime economy would actually need.
Pick 13 is scarce in any grade. Reserve issues were never released in quantity, and surviving examples often show storage folds rather than circulation wear — a different kind of use-history entirely.