Catalog
5 Kopiejek
| Issuer | Częstochowskie Towarzystwo Pożyczkowo-Oszczędnościowe (Częstochowa Loan and Savings Society) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
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| Currency | Rouble (1914-1916) |
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| Obverse description | Salmon-pink emergency note printed in brown letterpress, with the city arms of Częstochowa — a crowned tower with an eagle — in the upper left, accompanied by palm-branch vignettes and a small architectural vignette at lower left. The denomination '5. Kop.' appears at left, with the issuer's name in ornate gothic script across the upper portion and a central text block promising redemption within three months of peace, followed by the denomination in words. A circular violet official stamp of the society is applied at centre-left, with manuscript signatures of the Rada and Zarząd below, dated 'Częstochowie w Listopadzie 1914 r.' |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Bicolour reverse with a bold red upper band and an off-white lower field, the large denomination word 'KOPIEJEK' printed in red capitals across the centre of the note. The numeral '5' appears in each corner in a decorative red guilloche style. Two text blocks in black letterpress occupy the upper and lower sections: the upper authorising the compulsory circulation of the note by resolution of the Częstochowa City Council of 24 October 1914 under No. 8023, and the lower warning that counterfeiting and distribution of forged notes will be punished under martial law. |
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| Comments |
When Russian imperial authority collapsed at the outbreak of war in 1914, municipalities and private institutions across the Kingdom of Poland filled the resulting cash vacuum with locally issued substitutes. This note is one of those emergency instruments — printed in Częstochowa itself, almost certainly by a local press with no specialist banknote experience, using an official stamp as the sole concession to security. The Częstochowa Loan and Savings Society had no mandate to issue currency; necessity created that mandate overnight.
Kopiejek-denominated issues from Polish civil institutions of this period were declared illegal almost as soon as they appeared, yet continued circulating because nothing replaced them.