Banknotes of the Swiss franc

The eighth series of the Swiss franc (in the process of being replaced since 2016). As of 2015, the Swiss 1000-franc banknote is the world's second highest value currently-issued banknote, after the Brunei $10,000 bill (worth around 7,000 Swiss francs in 2016), followed by the Singapore $1,000 note (worth around 700 CHF) and the 500 euro note (worth around 540 CHF).

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 eighth series (while remaining valid) was being replaced by the ninth series.

History[]

The first banknotes in Switzerland were issued in 1825 by the Caisse de dépôt of the city of Bern.^[1]

During the 19th century the cantons (states) of Switzerland had the right to print their own notes. Following the law of 8 March 1881 the Swiss National Bank had the exclusive right to issue banknotes in Switzerland. Its 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.

Switzerland is unusual among affluent countries in that it used to expire its banknotes; the Swiss National Bank has declared several older series of banknotes to be no longer legal tender some time after introducing newer series.^[2] Notes from these "recalled" series could be exchanged for still-valid notes at the National Bank for up to 20 years after the date of recall, after which the notes lost all value. When recalled series become valueless, the National Bank transfers an amount of money equal to the sum of the now-worthless notes to a state-run last-resort disaster insurance fund, the Swiss Fund for Aid in Cases of Uninsurable Damage by Natural Forces.^[3] In June 2019, the Swiss parliament passed a bill that removed the twenty-year time limit. Effective 1 January 2020, all banknotes starting from the sixth series issued in 1976 as well as any future series remain valid and can be exchanged for current notes indefinitely.^[2][3][4][5]

In April 2021, the Swiss National Bank announced that it was recalling its eighth series of banknotes issued between 1995 and 1998; the series was replaced by the ninth series launched between 2016 and 2019.^[6] In May 2021, the banknotes lost their status as legal tender and are no longer valid for payments.^[6]

Overview[]

All series of Swiss banknotes[]

First series[]

1st series of Swiss banknotes[10]
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main colour	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	issue	withdrawal	lapse
		50 francs	166 × 103 mm	Green/Yellow	Helvetia	Ornaments	20 June 1907	1 July 1925	1 July 1945
		100 francs	183 × 116 mm	Blue	Helvetia	Ornaments
		500 francs	199 × 126 mm	Green	Helvetia	Ornaments
		1000 francs	215 × 132 mm	Purple	Helvetia	Ornaments
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Second series[]

The second series of Swiss banknotes was issued between 1911 and 1914.

2nd series of Swiss banknotes[11]
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main colour	Description		Date of			Notes
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	issue	withdrawal	lapse
		5 francs	148 × 70 mm	Brown/Green	William Tell	Ornaments	3 August 1914	1 May 1980	1 May 2000
		10 francs	135 × 82 mm	Brown/Yellow	Woman from Neuchâtel	Ornaments	—	—	—	Reserve note
		20 francs	163 × 95 mm	Blue/purple	Vreneli	Ornaments	31 July 1914	31 December 1935	1 January 1956
		50 francs	165 × 106 mm	Green	Woman's head	Woodcutter	22 December 1911	1 October 1958	1 October 1978
		100 francs	181 × 115 mm	Dark blue	Woman's head	Reaper	16 September 1911	1 October 1958	1 October 1978
		500 francs	200 × 125 mm	Red/Brown	Woman's head	Embroideres	24 December 1912	1 October 1958	1 October 1978
		1000 francs	216 × 131 mm	Purple/Orange	Woman's head	Foundry	16 September 1911	1 October 1958	1 October 1978
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

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.^[12]

Fourth series[]

The fourth series of Swiss banknotes was printed in 1938 as a reserve series and was never issued.

4th series of Swiss banknotes[13]
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main colour	Description		Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse
		50 francs	167 × 96 mm	Green	Woman's head	Bull	Never issued (reserve series)
		100 francs	190 × 106 mm	Blue	Woman from Haslital	Ornaments
		500 francs	210 × 116 mm	Brown-red	Woman's head	Chemistry
		1000 francs	228 × 125 mm	Purple	Woman's head	Turbine
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Fifth series[]

The fifth series of Swiss banknotes was issued starting in 1957.

5th series of Swiss banknotes[14]
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main colour	Description		Designer	Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse		issue	withdrawal	lapse
		10 francs	137 × 75 mm	Red-brown	Gottfried Keller	Bennet blossoms		1 October 1956	1 May 1980	1 May 2000
		20 francs	155 × 85 mm	Blue	Guillaume-Henri Dufour	Thistle		29 March 1956
		50 francs	173 × 95 mm	Green	Head of a girl	Apple harvest		14 June 1957
		100 francs	191 × 105 mm	Dark blue	Head of a boy	St Martin		14 June 1957
		500 francs	210 × 115 mm	Brown-red	Head of a woman	Fountain of Youth		14 June 1957
		1000 francs	228 × 125 mm	Purple	Head of woman	Danse Macabre		14 June 1957
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Sixth series[]

6th series of Swiss banknotes[15]
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main colour	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	issue	withdrawal	lapse
		10 francs	137 × 66 mm	Red	Leonhard Euler	Water turbine, the solar system and a scheme of propagation of rays of light passing through lenses	5 November 1979	1 May 2000	none (abolished)[16]
		20 francs	148 × 70 mm	Blue	Horace-Bénédict de Saussure	Mountain range, a group of alpinists and the Ammonshorn	4 April 1979
		50 francs	159 × 74 mm	Green	Conrad Gessner	Eagle owl, primula, stars	4 October 1978
		100 francs	170 × 78 mm	Dark blue	Francesco Borromini	Upper part of the dome-tower as well as the floor plan of the church Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza	4 October 1976
		500 francs	181 × 82 mm	Brown	Albrecht von Haller	Muscular figure of a human body, graph of respiration and the circulation of the blood, and a purple orchis	4 April 1977
		1000 francs	192 × 86 mm	Purple	Auguste Forel	Three ants and a cross-section of an anthill	4 April 1978
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

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 were suddenly to 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 . 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.^[17][18]

7th series of Swiss banknotes[15]
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main colour	Description		Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse
		10 francs	137 × 66 mm	Red-brown	Leonhard Euler; development of the polyhedron, the bridges of Königsberg	Gamma function; table for the calculation of numbers; diagram of the Solar System	Never issued (reserve series)
		20 francs	148 × 70 mm	Blue	Horace-Bénédict de Saussure; quartz crystals; Hornblende beam	, view of the valley of Chamonix and the Mont Blanc massif; expedition to the Tacul glacier
		50 francs	159 × 74 mm	Green	Conrad Gessner; branch of a dwarf cherry tree; foliage of the bush	Golden eagle (based on a woodcut from Gessner's Historiae animalium); "Metamorphosis of animals"; Latin text from the Historiae Animalium referring to the seven-headed hydra
		100 francs	170 × 78 mm	Dark blue	Francesco Borromini; architectural motif from the Basilica of St. John Lateran	Raising of the lantern and the spire of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza; floor plan of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane; dove and olive branch
		500 francs	181 × 82 mm	Brown	Albrecht von Haller; hexagonal structure of the cell; cell tissue	18th century anatomy plate; x-ray of the human thorax; mountains, referring to his poem "The Alps"
		1000 francs	192 × 86 mm	Purple	Louis Agassiz; structure of the surface of a shellfish	Head, skeleton and fossil of a perch; structure of the scales of a perch; ammonite
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Eighth series[]

The eighth series of Swiss franc banknotes, designed by , entered circulation in 1995.

8th series of Swiss banknotes[19]
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main colour	Obverse	Reverse	Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse
		10 francs	74 × 126 mm	Yellow	Le Corbusier	Ground plan, government district of Indian city of Chandigarh	8 April 1997
		20 francs	74 × 137 mm	Red	Arthur Honegger	Mouvement symphonique Pacific 231	1 October 1996
		50 francs	74 × 148 mm	Green	Sophie Taeuber-Arp	Tête Dada, 1919	3 October 1995
		100 francs	74 × 159 mm	Blue	Alberto Giacometti	L'Homme qui marche I	1 October 1998
		200 francs	74 × 170 mm	Brown	Charles Ferdinand Ramuz	Lac de Derborence (Les Diablerets), Lavaux	1 October 1997
		1000 francs	74 × 181 mm	Purple	Jacob Burckhardt	Palazzo Strozzi, Firenze	1 April 1998
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

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 , 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.^[20] As a result, the ninth series of Swiss franc banknotes was based on designs by second place finalist Manuela Pfrunder.^[21] The series was scheduled to be issued around 2010 but was delayed to 2015 due to technical problems in the production.^[22][23] The new 50-franc banknote was issued on 12 April 2016, followed by the 20-franc banknote on 17 May 2017, the 10-franc banknote on 18 October 2017, the 200-franc banknote on 22 August 2018, the 1,000-franc banknote on 13 March 2019 and the 100-franc banknote on 12 September 2019.

9th (current) series of Swiss banknotes[24]
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main colour	Theme (a typically Swiss characteristic)	Obverse (an action)	Reverse (a Swiss location and an object)	Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse
		10 francs	70 × 123 mm	Yellow	Switzerland's organisational talent Key motif: Time	A pair of female hands conducting the time with a baton. Globe: around the International Date Line, "End of Day" (Bering Strait, Pacific Ocean), with the time zone borders drawn on top of it. Clock faces form the background on the front of the note. Security strip: The Swiss rail network and its longest tunnels are depicted on the security strip.	Two rail tracks connecting in the world's longest railway tunnel, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, part of the world's most dense railway network reducing the Time for traversing the Alps in Central Switzerland Watch's movement : the watch's movement symbolises the country's strong organisational talent. Rail network: The lines on the back of the note depict a section of Switzerland's rail network.	18 October 2017
		20 francs	70 × 130 mm	Red	Switzerland's creativity Key motif: Light	A boyish right hand holding a prism into a light beam so that the light is dispersed into various colours. Globe: 4 hours earlier (Pacific Ocean, North-America) and the motif of light is echoed in star constellations over the globe. The background of the note is reminiscent of a kaleidoscope in which colourful patterns are produced through reflected light. Security strip: Night-time light emissions are overlaid on a map of Switzerland and the surrounding regions, and the distances between various celestial bodies and the earth are listed in light seconds.	Light beaming a movie to a large outdoor screen on the Piazza Grande in Locarno during the Locarno Film Festival. Butterfly: Light reveals the colour of the butterfly's wings and allows us to behold the rich diversity of nature. Iris: The lines on the back portray an iris, which regulates the amount of light entering the human eye.	17 May 2017
		50 francs	70 × 137 mm	Green	Wealth of experiences Switzerland offers Key motif: Wind	Left hand holding a dandelion with flowing, silky pappi carried forth by the wind. Globe: another 4 hours earlier (Africa, Atlantic Ocean, South America, North America) and the arrows on the globe show the direction of the winds that connect Switzerland with other regions and continents. Background pattern: Wind flow arrows Security strip: Mountains evoke Switzerland's varied landscapes. The security strip shows the Alps and lists the names of the main four-thousand-metre peaks in the Swiss Alps, from A for Aletschhorn to Z for Zumsteinspitze.	Wind streaming around the glaciated mountain peaks of the Swiss Alps. Paraglider: The wind, the note's key motif, holds the paraglider aloft in the mountains. Contour lines: The contour lines evoke Switzerland's varied landscapes.	12 April 2016
		100 francs	70 × 144 mm	Blue	Switzerland's humanitarian tradition Key motif: Water	A pair of hands holding and providing water Globe: another 4 hours earlier (Europe, Africa) Security strip: The rivers flowing through Switzerland are shown and listed in the security strip.	Water flowing alongside a vertical mountain side in the dry Valais wooden German: Suonen/French: des bisses	12 September 2019[25]
		200 francs	70 × 151 mm	Brown	Switzerland's scientific expertise Key motif: Matter	Right hand pointing to the three dimensions (right-hand rule) Globe: another 4 hours earlier (Africa, Europe, Middle East, Indian Ocean, Asia) with the Earth's land masses during the Late Cretaceous period superimposed Security strip: An abstract map of the geological ages of Switzerland and a timeline showing some of the stages in the formation of the universe are shown on the security strip.	Signals from a particle collision in a detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in Geneva Particle collision map	22 August 2018[25]
		1000 francs	70 × 158 mm	Purple	Switzerland's communicative flair Key motif: Language	Two right hands of different persons shaking hands Globe: another 4 hours earlier, "Start of Day" (Eastern Asia, Australia) with IPA letters Security strip: The map on the security strip shows the language regions of Switzerland and its neighbouring countries; in addition, the names of all Swiss cantons are listed.	Holding speeches in different languages in the Swiss parliament during the Federal Assembly at Berne Relation graph	13 March 2019[25]
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Security and counterfeiting[]

The eighth banknote series possesses at least eighteen security features.^[26]

According to the 2008 edition of Guinness World Records, the eighth 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.^[27] According to their respective central banks, the rate of counterfeited banknotes as of 2011 was about 1 in 100,000 for the Swiss franc, 1 in 20,000 for the euro, 1 in 10,000 for the United States dollar and 1 in 3,333 for the pound sterling.^[28]

See also[]

• Coins of the Swiss franc
• Vreneli
• Hybrid paper-polymer banknote

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[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Banknotes of Switzerland.

• Banknotes and coins (Swiss National Bank)