Catalog
10 Kopecks Latvia, Libava, Libau
| Issuer | Libau (Liepāja) City Council |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark blue-black on a tan diagonal-ruled guilloche underprint. A circular vignette at centre bears the crowned lion of the Libau municipal coat of arms within a dotted border. The issuer's title in ornate Cyrillic letterpress script — «ЛИБАВСКОЕ ГОРОДСКОЕ САМОУПРАВЛЕНІЕ» — arches across the top, flanked by the numeral «10» in the upper corners. Two dark octagonal panels at lower left and lower right carry the denomination «10 Коп.» and «10 Сор.» respectively, with the legend «РАЗМѢННЫЙ ЗНАКЪ» appearing to either side of the central vignette and the anti-counterfeiting warning «ПОДДѢЛКА КАРАЕТСЯ ПО УГОЛОВНЫМЪ ЗАКОНАМЪ» printed below it. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | ЛИБАВСКОЕ ГОРОДСКОЕ САМОУПРАВЛЕНІЕ РАЗМѢННЫЙ ЗНАКЪ. 10 Коп. 10 Сор. ПОДДѢЛКА КАРАЕТСЯ ПО УГОЛОВНЫМЪ ЗАКОНАМЪ. |
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| Comments |
Libau's municipal emergency notes of 1915 were issued under German military occupation, making them an unusual case of a Latvian city council issuing currency while the Russian Empire still nominally controlled the broader territory. The German army captured Libau in May 1915, and these kopeck-denominated scrip pieces — still denominated in the Russian monetary unit — reflect the chaotic transitional weeks before full German administrative consolidation swept the region.
The continued use of kopeck denominations after occupation is the telling detail: local commerce could not wait for monetary policy to catch up with the front lines.