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| Issuer | Bank of Finland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1866 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Markka |
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| Obverse description | Pink on light blue underprint, with a black Czarist double-headed eagle overprinted at top centre over an earlier design bearing a 'white' eagle. The legend 'FINLANDS BANK' appears in large white reversed-out letters centrally, flanked by Swedish text to the right and Finnish text to the left, with Russian text below. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Предъявителю сего Финляндскій Банкъ выдаетъ ОДНУ Марку серебромъ. Tämän Setelin väärentäminen tahi muukaaminen, kiun myöskin semmosen rahan kauppaaminen, rangaistaan Marraskuun 2 (14) päivänä 1812 annetun Keisarillisen Asetuksen jälkeen. Förfalskning eller efterapning af denna Sedel, äfvensom utprängling af den förfalskade, anses med det i Kejserl. Förordningen af den 2 (14) November 1812 stadgade ansvar. За подделку сего билета, равно за выпускъ поддѣланнаго въ обращеніе, подвергать виновныхъ наказанію. Высочайшимъ Постановленіемъ 2 (14) Ноября 1812 опредѣленному. |
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| Comments |
Finland's first domestically issued paper currency came from the Bank of Finland in 1860, when the country was an autonomous grand duchy under the Russian Empire. The markka was introduced specifically to displace the Russian ruble in Finnish commerce — a monetary separation the Russians permitted, unusually, as part of a broader policy of managed Finnish autonomy under Alexander II.
The 1866 dating places this note in the early years of the markka's circulation, before the currency was pegged to silver in 1878. Paper money was poorly trusted by rural Finns at this period; low-denomination notes like the 1 Markka circulated hard and wore quickly, making survivors in any presentable state genuinely uncommon.