1000 Korun

Bradbury Wilkinson printed this note in London during the war, though it was intended from the outset for post-liberation use in Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovak government-in-exile, operating out of London under Beneš, commissioned a series of notes in anticipation of liberation — this 1000 Korun being the highest denomination in that emergency issue. When German forces were finally expelled in May 1945, these notes entered circulation almost immediately as part of the effort to restore a functioning monetary system after years of Protektorate-era currency manipulation.

The series had a short effective lifespan. The 1945 monetary reform, which included a strict exchange quota designed to wipe out wartime black-market wealth, rendered large holdings of high denominations essentially worthless beyond the permitted limit.