1000 Korun

Pick 5 was among the first notes issued by the newly independent Czechoslovak state following the collapse of Austria-Hungary. The practical problem facing Prague in early 1919 was both urgent and unglamorous: there were no presses, no infrastructure, and no time. The solution was to overstamp existing Austro-Hungarian banknotes with Czechoslovak revenue stamps — a process carried out hastily between February and March 1919 as part of the currency separation from the former empire.

At the 1000 Koruna level, forgeries of the overstamp were a documented concern almost immediately. The government's response was a rapid transition to purpose-printed issues, which effectively shortened the circulation window of the stamped notes and now makes genuine, properly stamped examples worth careful scrutiny.