Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
50 Francs
| Issuer | Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise |
|---|---|
| Year | 1874-1879 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Paper |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| 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 | The obverse is engraved in intaglio by A. Bovet of Geneva and centered on a large oval guilloche border containing the issuer's name and the denomination inscription in bold script. At the top of the oval, the Swiss cantonal arms of Neuchâtel surmounted by a cross appear within an ornate cartouche flanked by laurel branches and radiating lines. Denomination numeral "50" appears in decorative cartouches at each side of the oval, with three signature lines for the Contrôleur, Caissier, and Directeur below, and an emission cartouche at the foot bearing the date and place of issue alongside decorative scrollwork and a small architectural vignette. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 50 Fs BANQUE CANTONALE NEUCHATELOISE. IL SERA PAYÉ EN ESPÈCES A VUE AU PORTEUR, cinquante francs. 50 50 Le Contrôleur, Le Caissier, Le Directeur, ÉMISSION DU 1ER. AOÛT 1879 NEUCHÂTEL A. BOVET A GENEVE |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise was one of roughly two dozen cantonal banks issuing their own notes in Switzerland during the 1870s, a fragmented system that the Federal Act of 1881 — and ultimately the founding of the Swiss National Bank in 1907 — would eventually dismantle. These notes circulated in a genuinely competitive currency environment, where public trust in a specific cantonal institution was priced into daily commerce.
Auguste Bovet's Geneva workshop handled both the engraving and printing, which was not always the case in this period — separating those functions between firms was common. The consolidated arrangement likely reflects the relatively modest print runs typical of smaller cantonal issuers.