Banknotes of the Swiss franc are issued by the Swiss National Bank in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 1,000 Swiss francs.
Between 2016 and 2019, the eight series (remaining valid until further notice) is being replaced by the ninth series.
Video Banknotes of the Swiss franc
History
The first banknotes in Switzerland were issued in 1825 by the Caisse de dépôt of the city of Bern.
During the 19th century the Cantons had the right of printing notes. Following the law of 8 March 1881 the Swiss National Bank had the exclusive right to issue banknotes in Switzerland. First notes were issued in 1907. Since then, nine series of Swiss franc notes have been printed, six of which have been completely released for use by the general public, and a new series started being released in 2016.
Maps Banknotes of the Swiss franc
Overview
All series of Swiss banknotes
First series
Second series
The second series of Swiss banknotes was issued between 1911 and 1914.
Third series
The third series of Swiss banknotes was printed in 1918; some of the notes were issued as war notes, while others were kept as reserve.
Fourth series
The fourth series of Swiss banknotes was printed in 1938 as a reserve series and was never issued.
Fifth series
The fifth series of Swiss banknotes was issued starting in 1957.
Sixth series
Seventh series
A seventh series of Swiss banknotes was designed and printed in 1984, in parallel with the sixth series, but was never released. It formed the reserve series, to be released, for example, if the current series would suddenly become widely counterfeited. At first, almost no information was released on the series for security reasons, except for small fragments. However, after the eighth series was released, it was decided to improve the security features of the current series rather than develop a new reserve series. The details of the seventh series were later released, while the actual banknotes were destroyed. The designers were Roger Pfund and Elisabeth Pfund. They had originally won the competition for the design of the sixth series, but since the Swiss National Bank decided to use the design by Ernst and Ursula Hiestand instead, the Pfunds were charged with the design of the reserve series.
Eighth series
The eighth series of Swiss franc banknotes, designed by Jörg Zintzmeyer, entered circulation in 1995.
Ninth series
In 2005, the Swiss National Bank held a competition to determine the design of the next series of banknotes. The competition was won by Manuel Krebs, but his designs, which include depictions of blood cells and embryos, were met with sufficient opposition from the general public as to discourage the bank from going forward with them. As a result, the ninth series of Swiss franc banknotes will be based on designs by second place finalist Manuela Pfrunder. The series was scheduled to be issued around 2010 but was delayed to 2015 due to technical problems in the production. The new 50-franc banknote was issued on 12 April 2016, followed by the 20-franc banknote on 17 May 2017, and the 10-franc banknote on 18 October 2017.
Security and counterfeiting
According to the 2008 edition of Guinness World Records the eight series of Swiss Franc notes is the most secure in the world with up to 18 security features including a tilting digit which can only be seen from an unusual angle, a UV digit that can only be seen under ultraviolet light and micro text. According to the central banks, the ratio of counterfeited bank notes is about 1 in 100,000 of real bank notes for the Swiss franc, of 1 in 20,000 for the Euro, of 1 in 10,000 for the United States dollar and of 1 in 3,333 for the Pound sterling.
See also
- Coins of the Swiss franc
- Vreneli
Notes and references
Bibliography
- Michel de Rivaz, The Swiss banknote: 1907-1997, Genoud, 1997 (ISBN 2-88100-080-0).
- Albert Meier, Monnaies - Billets de Banque. Suisse - Liechtenstein 1798-1995, Hünibach, 1996.
External links
- Banknotes and coins (Swiss National Bank)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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