Catalog
10 Markkaa
| Issuer | Suomen Pankki (Bank of Finland) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1882 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Markka (1860-1963) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Yellow-ochre note with an intricate guilloche underprint throughout. At left, a large intaglio vignette of the Finnish coat of arms with the imperial double-headed eagle; at right, a circular guilloche medallion bearing the numeral '10'. The bilingual text in Swedish and Finnish reads 'FINLANDS BANK' and 'Suomen Pankki' in bold letterpress, with the denomination expressed as 'TIO MARK i guld' and 'Kymmenen Markkaa kullassa'. Two manuscript signatures appear below the central text, with the serial number '1938155' printed at lower left and lower right, and the date '1882' in a cartouche at bottom centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Yellow-ochre reverse with a fine guilloche underprint. A large central vignette comprises a circular medallion with the numeral '10' surrounded by radiating lathe-work and flanked by symmetrical sprays of pine branches; to the left and right are decorative allegorical trophy vignettes incorporating tools and scrollwork. The denomination heading 'KYMMENEN MARKKAA.' is printed in bold at top centre, with the Russian-language legend below reading 'ФИНЛЯНДСКIЙ БАНКЪ выдасть ДЕСЯТЬ МАРКЪ ЗОЛОТОМЪ.' Three columns of small text in Finnish, Swedish, and Russian appear along the bottom margin, referencing the Imperial Regulation of 12 April 1874. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Finland in 1882 was an autonomous Grand Duchy under Russian imperial rule, and the Suomen Pankki operated under constraints that made issuing even modest-denomination notes a carefully managed political act. The Bank had gained the right to issue its own currency — the markka — only in 1860, when Finland was deliberately decoupled from the Russian ruble system as a concession to local administration. This note belongs to the generation of issues that consolidated that monetary autonomy before the Russification pressures of the 1890s began to bear down on Finnish institutions.
The P#A46 designation signals a pre-main-series attribution — likely a transitional or short-run type before the series was regularized. Surviving examples in any condition are uncommon; Finnish banknotes from this period were subject to thorough recall and destruction programs.