2016-12-20 Tue

“Youth is wasted on the young”

All the “Pirates of the Caribbean Sea” fans out there...yes it's true; there is a real place like the Fountain of youth!

Well...so the legend says. But nonetheless, this mythical fountain has been depicted on Swiss banknotes CHF 500 Swiss Francs banknote.

This note in the hues of brown from the 5th Swiss banknote series depicts on obverse an effigy of a woman looking into a handheld mirror. The reverse features an illustration of the fountain of the youth designed by Swiss graphic designer Pierre Gauchat (1902-1956).

The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. The legend became much prominent in the 16th century, with the rumours of a Spanish explorer named Juan Ponce de León, first Governor of Puerto Rico; “found” a spring when he travelled to what is now Florida.

The legend, however, goes way back as we even have Alexander the great saying that he found a healing “river of paradise”, the earliest historian Herodotus also mentions such a spring in his writings. Similar stories resurface over the time and are heard from all the countries!

The notes of this 5th series of Swiss banknotes were issued just after the end the Second World War, the first issue being on 14Th June 1957. This fountain of youth symbolises the juvenile freshness and “the remarkable ability of men to draw hope even after the greatest catastrophes..."

So whether this fountain is true or not, this is definitely a very beautiful note to possess.

Happy collecting!