Catalog
2 Roubles Latvia, Libava, Libau
| Issuer | City of Liepāja (Libau) Municipal Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Size | 106 × 56 mm |
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| Obverse description | The municipal coat of arms of Libava (Liepāja) is centred on the note, with the denomination numeral appearing in each corner. The name of the issuing city authority runs along the top margin above the central vignette. The text block below the emblem carries the obligation clause and anti-counterfeiting warning in Cyrillic letterpress. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Либавское Городское Самоуправление ОБЯЗУЕТСЯ ОПЛАТИТЬ НАСТОЯЩУЮ ДОЛГОВУЮ РАСПИСКУ НЕМЕДЛЕННО ПОСЛЕ ОКОНЧАНIИ ВОЙНЫ 2 Руб. ПОДДЪЛКА КАРАЕТСЯ ПО УГОЛОВНЫМЪ ЗАКОНАМЪ. 2 Rbl. (Translation: Libava City Government. [The government is] obliged to pay the debt banknote immediately after the end of the war. 2 Rub. Forgery is punished under criminal law.) |
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| Comments |
Libau — the heavily Germanized port city known today as Liepāja — issued emergency municipal currency in 1915 under conditions of acute coin shortage and the looming threat of German advance. The city fell to German forces in May 1915, meaning notes issued that year straddled two administrations: some circulated under Russian Imperial authority, others under German military occupation almost immediately after.
The bilingual naming convention on these notes, citing both "Libava" (Russian) and "Libau" (German), was not decorative — it reflected the genuine administrative ambiguity of a city whose population and commercial life had long been split along linguistic lines. That duality became permanent within weeks of issue.