3 Marka

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.