Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
2 Mark Darlehnskasse Ost
| Issuer | Darlehnskasse Ost |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 127 × 84 mm |
| 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 | Red-brown print on lilac underprint. The centre carries the bold Gothic text "ZWEI MARK" flanked by large numeral "2" corner pieces, above which the heading "Darlehnskassenschein" is set. Below the denomination, the place and date of issue read "Kowno, den 4. April 1918", followed by the issuing authority "DARLEHNSK ASSE OST" in block lettering, two manuscript signatures, and a guarantee clause in small German text; the lower border panel contains a repeat inscription "ZWEI MARK" within a guilloche cartouche. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Red-brown print on a plain paper ground. The centre is occupied by a large oval guilloche medallion incorporating two "MARK" inscriptions flanking a bold numeral "2", surrounded by intricate rosette and lathe-work patterns. A serial number in red is positioned in the lower right area. Anti-counterfeiting warnings appear in German at the top and in Lithuanian (Latvian text printed vertically on the left and right margins), with additional Lithuanian penalty text in two columns at the foot. |
| 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 |
Darlehnskasse Ost was a German military loan bank established in 1916 to manage currency in the occupied eastern territories — effectively a colonial monetary apparatus for Ober Ost, the vast zone of occupation carved out of the Russian Empire. These notes were not Reichsmarks and were deliberately kept non-convertible, preventing locals from exchanging them for hard German currency and trapping purchasing power within the occupation zone.
By the time this 1918 note was printed, the entire system was running on borrowed time. Germany's eastern commitments collapsed with the November armistice, and most Darlehnskasse Ost currency became worthless within weeks of issue.