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5.000 Marka
| Issuer | Tallinna Arwekoda (Tallinn Clearing House) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1918-1927) |
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| Obverse description | Light green note printed in letterpress with a fine guilloche underprint and a repeating '5000 MARKA' border running through all four margins. A central heraldic vignette is flanked on either side by serial number panels, with two blocks of Estonian text positioned left and right of the vignette. The bold heading 'TALLINNA ARWEKOJA MAKSUTÄHT' runs across the top, while the large denomination numeral '5000' and 'MARKA' appear at bottom centre above a dateline reading 'TALLINNAS... 192_'; a bold red manuscript cancellation crosses the face diagonally. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Light green reverse sharing the same repeating '5000 MARKA' guilloche border as the obverse. A caduceus vignette occupies the centre, below the bold letterpress heading 'TALLINNA ARWEKOJA MAKSUTÄHT'; the large numeral '5000' is printed in a dark overprint above the written denomination 'Viistuhat Marka' in stylised script. A signature line for 'Wäljaandja' (issuer) appears at lower left, with 'TALLINNA ARWEKOJA' repeated in the vertical side panel, and a bold red manuscript cancellation crosses the face diagonally. |
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| Comments |
The Tallinna Arwekoda was not a bank in any conventional sense — it was a clearing house, and its authority to issue circulating paper currency in 1920 reflects just how fractured Estonia's monetary infrastructure was in the immediate aftermath of independence. The Estonian mark was still being assembled as a functioning currency, and quasi-banking institutions stepped into the gap.
Pick 4 is the highest denomination in the Arwekoda series, which makes surviving examples relatively scarcer than the lower values — large denominations circulated hard and were redeemed quickly once the Bank of Estonia tightened its grip on issuance.