Catalog
3 Marka
| Issuer | Ministry of Finance of Estonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#44 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EESTI VABARIIGI KASSATÄHT 3 1919 |
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| Reverse lettering | KASSENSCHEIN DER ESTNISCHEN REPUBLIK ESTNISKA REPUBLIKENS KASSASEDEL 3 MARKA КАЗНАЧЕЙСКІЙ ЗНАКЪ ЭСТОНСКОЙ РЕСПУБЛИКИ |
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| Comments |
Estonia's first domestic currency issue came almost immediately after the November 1918 declaration of independence, with the Ministry of Finance acting as issuer in the absence of a functioning central bank. The 3 Marka was part of that inaugural series, produced under wartime conditions while Estonian forces were actively fighting both German and Soviet Russian troops on their own territory — the War of Independence would not conclude until February 1920.
Ussisoo and Grinjev designed the series locally, which was unusual for a newly independent state that might otherwise have contracted a foreign security printer. The printing was handled domestically in Tallinn, a practical necessity given the blockades and chaos of 1919.