Catalog
5 Francs / Franken = 4 Mark
| Issuer | État du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg / Großherzoglich Luxemburgischer Staat |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Francs / Franken |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | German-language side of this bilingual kassenschein, with an elaborate guilloche underprint in green and brown on cream paper, mirroring the obverse layout. The heading 'Großherzoglich Luxemburgischer Staat' appears at top, followed by 'Kassenschein auf den Inhaber' and 'Gesetz vom 28. November 1914', with the denomination '5 Fünf Franken 5' and 'gleich Vier Mark' in bold blackletter script. Two manuscript signature lines appear beneath the titles 'Die General-Staatskasse' and 'Die Kontrolle', with a matching serial number in red at right, a red oval stamp at lower left, and the printer's imprint 'Giesecke & Devrient' at lower right; the counterfeiting warning is printed along the bottom in German. |
| Reverse lettering | Großherzoglich Luxemburgischer Staat Kassenschein auf den Inhaber Gesetz vom 28. November 1914 5 Fünf Franken 5 gleich Vier Mark Die General-Staatskasse, Die Kontrolle, Wer Kassenscheine nachmacht oder verfälscht, wird mit Zwangsarbeit von 15 bis 20 Jahren bestraft. GIESECKE & DEVRIENT |
| 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 |
This note emerged from one of the more awkward monetary arrangements in early twentieth-century Europe. Luxembourg was simultaneously part of the German Customs Union and tied to the Latin Monetary Union through its franc-based currency — hence the dual denomination, 5 Francs equaling exactly 4 Mark, printed on a single face to satisfy both obligations at once.
Giesecke & Devrient's Leipzig plant produced the note just as German forces occupied the Grand Duchy in August 1914. Whether any pre-occupation stock reached circulation before the military administration imposed its own financial controls is not firmly established.