In the days before the First World War (which started on July 28, 1914), many people began to hoard cash and foodstuff also in Switzerland. When the war actually started it came to a panic: masses of depositors rushed to the financial institutions to withdraw their savings; then they exchange them for gold and silver coins at the National Bank. Banknotes were not yet regarded as "real" money then; the accumulation of metals seemed safer. Hence, in the summer of 1914, Switzerland underwent a coin crisis. In the last days of July, the Federal Council lifted the obligation of the Swiss National Bank to exchange banknotes for coined money. The very next day, the National Bank started to issue prepared banknotes worth 20 francs, a denomination that had not existed before. Some time later bills of 5 francs followed, and in August additional notes of remittance with various denominations were circulated. This piece was one of them. Its obverse shows Libertas, the personification of freedom, and Arnold Winkelried, a legendary Swiss hero.