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500 Francs Neuchâtel Commercial Bank
| Issuer | Banque Commerciale Neuchâteloise |
|---|---|
| Year | 1896-1906 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Green intaglio-printed note with a standing allegorical female figure at left holding a tablet, set against fine guilloche borders. Central text panel bears the bank name and denomination in bold letterpress, with series and number printed in red. A putto vignette appears at lower right, with the printer's imprint at bottom left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Dark green intaglio reverse with two circular portrait medallions of a classical female head at left and right, surrounded by dense guilloche underprint with repeated denomination numerals. The trilingual denomination is inscribed in three horizontal bands across the central panel in French, German, and Italian. |
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| Comments |
The Banque Commerciale Neuchâteloise was one of several cantonal and regional private banks issuing notes in Switzerland before the Swiss National Bank's founding in 1907 consolidated that right under federal authority. This 500-franc denomination is from the final decade of that decentralized regime — notes of this value from regional issuers were rarely seen in ordinary commerce and circulated almost exclusively between merchants and financial houses.
Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement is unsurprising; the firm handled engraving and printing for numerous European private and colonial banks throughout the late nineteenth century. Swiss private banknote issues of this period were effectively killed off by the Federal Banking Law rather than withdrawn through natural obsolescence.