10 Krooni

Estonia's return to the krooni in 1992 was among the most decisive currency reforms of the post-Soviet transition — the Bank of Estonia pegged the new krooni to the Deutsche Mark at 8:1 and backed it with gold reserves that had been frozen in Western banks since the Soviet occupation in 1940. That fifty-two-year-old gold held the line. Thomas De La Rue produced the notes before the reform was formally announced, meaning printed stock was sitting in London while Estonia was still technically operating in roubles.

The watermark is the sole security feature — modest by De La Rue's own standards, reflecting both cost constraints and the speed at which the issue had to be brought to market.