Catalog
1 Rubel Łódź
| Issuer | Urząd Starszych Zgromadzenia Kupców m. Łodzi i Komitet Giełdowy Łódzki |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Green on salmon-beige guilloche underprint. The left portion carries an oval vignette with the stylised numeral '1' and the legend JEDEN RUBEL in a vertical band, flanked by ornate rosette corner pieces. The central text panel, printed in dark green letterpress on the pale underprint, sets out the full Polish redemption clause and lists the issuing bodies — Urząd Starszych Zgromadzenia Kupców m. Łodzi and Komitet Giełdowy Łódzki — together with the countersigning banks. A red overprinted series designation and six-digit serial number appear across the mid-section, and a red oval control stamp of the Wydział Finansowy is applied to the right margin. The denomination JEDEN RUBEL is repeated in a decorative panel at the foot. |
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| Reverse description | Green on salmon-beige two-tone guilloche underprint, the layout mirroring the obverse. The full Russian-language text equivalent of the redemption and security clause occupies the central panel, naming the Управа Старшин Лодзинскаго Купеч. О-ва and the Лодзинский Биржевой Комитет alongside the two countersigning banks. A red overprinted Серія designation and matching serial number are printed across the upper portion, while three lower vignette panels display the Cyrillic denomination 1 РУБЛЬ repeated at left and right and РУБЛЬ in a central starburst medallion. |
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| Comments |
Łódź was under German occupation when local commercial authorities — the Merchant Assembly Elders and the Łódź Exchange Committee — jointly issued this note in 1916 to address a severe small-denomination coin shortage. The occupying administration had systematically stripped metallic currency from circulation, leaving retail trade in the city nearly impossible. Emergency paper in ruble denominations was the practical answer, even as the ruble itself was becoming a dying currency on Polish territory.
The dual issuing authority is unusual — a merchants' body and an exchange committee acting in concert rather than through any municipal or banking channel. That arrangement reflects how thoroughly normal financial infrastructure had collapsed in the city by mid-war.