News conference on new banknotes
Berne, 3 September 2019
Fritz Zurbrügg
Introductory remarks by Fritz Zurbrügg
Ladies and gentlemen
I am very pleased to welcome you to our presentation of the new 100-franc note, the last
denomination of the ninth banknote series to be issued. To mark the final milestone in this
challenging project, as well as inviting the media we also have some guests here who were
heavily involved in developing and producing the new banknote series. It gives me great
pleasure to welcome representatives from our suppliers Orell Füssli, Landqart, Sicpa and
Kurz.
I am going to start by unveiling the hotly anticipated 100-franc note, before showing you the
full series, with all six denominations together for the first time.
My colleague Thomas Jordan will then review the issuance process for the entire new series,
before looking to the future. After that, we will take your questions on the new 100-franc
note, and the ninth series in general. We do of course have all the denominations here with us,
so that you can take photos of both the 100-franc note and the entire series. Finally, we will
round off today's event with a drinks reception, to which you are all warmly invited. But let's
start by unveiling the last denomination in the new banknote series.
Voilà, the new 100-franc note.
I'll now take you through the details of the new note.
Like its predecessor, the new 100-franc note is blue. And, as with all the other denominations
in the new series, it is narrower and shorter than the previous note.
The theme of the 100-franc note is Switzerland's humanitarian tradition, and the key motif is
water. Both are reflected in the note's core design elements.
The hand and the globe are the main images on the front of the note. The hands are scooping
up water, and isobars are depicted over the globe.
The back of the note shows an irrigation channel, or 'suone', feeding glacial meltwater down
a cliff face to the fields below. A suone is a method of transporting water from high altitudes
to lower-lying areas for irrigation purposes. In the past, such irrigation channels were used for
land cultivation, especially in the Valais region. The image of a suone symbolises the
treatment and distribution of water - a major component of Switzerland's humanitarian and
development aid effort.
The key motif also plays an important role on the security strip, which features a network of
waterways over the map of Switzerland, together with a list of the country's longest rivers.
The remaining security features, such as the transparent Swiss cross or the shimmering globe,
are the same as those on all denominations of the new series - you will already be familiar
with these.
As with the other denominations, we are once again providing information in print and online,
and we have of course updated our 'Swiss Banknotes' app.
The new 100-franc note will be issued starting next Thursday, 12 September 2019, at our
counters in Berne and Zurich and at the SNB's agencies. For logistical reasons, it will take a
few days before the new notes are available country-wide.
And now, having unveiled the new 100-franc note, I'd like to show you the entire set.
Here it is: the complete ninth series, inspired by 'The many facets of Switzerland'. The
vibrant colours and the aesthetically pleasing and intricate design of the series are particularly
striking.
Switzerland's many facets are showcased using core design elements such as the hand, the
globe, a Swiss location and an object, which are easily recognisable and recur throughout the
banknote series.
The theme of each note is illustrated via a hand gesture. On the 50-franc note, the hand is
holding a dandelion, whose seeds are carried away on the wind. On the 10-franc note, a
conductor's hand sets the tempo for the orchestra.
The shimmering globe reflects how Switzerland sees itself as part of an interconnected world.
In the sequence of notes from 1000 francs to 10 francs, the earth rotates once on its axis and
passes through one full day.
The places depicted on the back of the notes are emblematic of various locations in
Switzerland. Together, the six notes illustrate the diversity of our country.
The object depicted is linked to each note's key motif. On the 20-franc note, the object is a
butterfly, and on the 200-franc, a particle collision. The key motifs of the six notes are time,
light, wind, water, matter and language.
As I mentioned earlier, the security features are the same for all denominations.
I hope you like the new banknote series as much as I do. Now that all the notes are here,
people can choose their own favourite. Before I finish, I would like to take this opportunity to
express our heartfelt thanks to Manuela Pfrunder and her team, and to congratulate them on a
tour de force in designing the series.
And with that, I will hand you over to our Chairman, Thomas Jordan, who will look back over
the project and the challenges it presented, both for the SNB and for our partners.