Bank notes of the Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechsel-Bank

Since the late eighteenth century, there had been several attempts to establish of a central bank in Bavaria. However, the fear of and the distrust against paper money prevented the implementation of such plans. King Ludwig I (1786–1868, king 1825–1848) was the first to strive for the installation of a mortgage bank and asked for a respective law to be drawn up. On 18 June 1835, the Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechsel-Bank (Bavarian Mortgage and Exchange Bank) was founded.

The main field of business of the new bank was the provision with agriculture, trade and business with capital. The Notenprivileg (privilege to issue bank notes) was "only" a secondary business to compensate for limitations in the Hypothekenbankgeschäft (mortgage banking business). As far as the issuing of legal tender was concerned the most precise rules for the level of circulation, covering, redemption and denomination were decreed. The royal commissary took the decision about height and moment of the issuing. The Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechsel-Bank was unable to act independently but its issues of bank notes were always tied to the specifications of the state.

In total, the Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechsel-Bank issued between 1836 up to abandoning the privilege of issuing bank notes in 1874 five notes of ten guilders, two notes of 100 guilders and one note of 100 marks. The bank notes were no legal tender but substituted money and always had to be changed into coins. Next to the parent bank in Munich and the branch in Augsburg, gradually in the most important cities of Bavaria offices of exchange were instituted.

The partial collections of "Paper money in Bavaria" available on bavarikon

>> This collection is part of the holdings of "Paper money in Bavaria" of the Giesecke+Devrient Stiftung Geldscheinsammlung (Giesecke+Devrient foundation: collections of bank notes).