Catalog
3 rubļi Latvia, Mitau, Jelgava
| Issuer | Jelgavas Pilsētas Valde (Jelgava City Council) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rublis (1919-1922) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Latvian-language text note printed in black on a pale green guilloche underprint with a meander-pattern border running along all four edges. The heading reads 'Jelgawas pilsehtas walde' in bold Gothic script, flanked left and right by corner denomination numerals '3 rubli'. At centre, the Jelgava city coat of arms — a shield bearing a lion passant above a key — serves as the central vignette, with bilingual redemption text in Latvian arranged in two columns on either side. The lower portion carries a handwritten signature of the Pilsētas galwa (City Head) to the right, with the serial number and the issue authorization date of 5 December 1918 printed to the left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | German-language text note of identical format and layout to the obverse, printed in black on the same pale green guilloche underprint with a meander-pattern border. The heading 'Die Mitausche Stadtverwaltung' appears in bold Gothic script at the top centre, with denomination numerals '3 Rubel' repeated in all four corners. The Mitau city coat of arms occupies the centre, flanked by redemption text pledging payment of drei Rubel within six months of general peace ratification. The lower section contains the matching serial number, the issue resolution date of 5 December 1918, and the Stadthaupt's handwritten signature. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Jelgava — historically Mitau, the former capital of the Duchy of Courland — was caught between German occupation and the collapsing Russian administrative order in 1918, and this note reflects exactly that chaos. The Jelgavas Pilsētas Valde issued emergency municipal currency because no functioning central authority existed to supply it. German forces had occupied the city since 1915, and by the armistice period the monetary vacuum was genuine, not administrative convenience.
The trilingual naming convention in the title — Latvian, German, and the old Courland toponym — tells you more about that particular political moment than any textbook summary would.