2 Perpera

Montenegro's decision to print its own emergency paper money in Cetinje in 1914 was born of military desperation. When the First World War began, silver coin vanished almost immediately, and the Main State Treasury had neither the time nor the foreign connections to commission notes abroad. The result was printed domestically — an unusual circumstance for a small Balkan state that had previously relied on outside printers.

The microtext underprint is the one technically sophisticated element, and it sits in odd contrast to the otherwise rudimentary local production. Montenegro was overrun by Austro-Hungarian forces in January 1916, and much of the circulating paper currency was rendered worthless within two years of issue.