50 Francs

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.