20 Markkaa

Finland was still a Grand Duchy under Russian rule when this note circulated, but the Bank of Finland operated with considerable autonomy — the markka had been pegged to gold since 1878, and these notes were redeemable in specie at a fixed rate. That convertibility was the political point: Finnish monetary policy was deliberately kept separate from the Russian ruble system.

The A47 series is among the earlier small-format Finnish issues and was printed by the Finnish Government Printing House in Helsinki, an unusual choice for the period when most comparable institutions still contracted to foreign security printers.