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5 Markkaa Kullassa / Mark i Guld / Marok' Zolotom' (Gold Mark)
| Issuer | Suomen Pankki / Finlands Bank / Finlandskiy Bank' |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 130 x 80 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | SUOMEN PANKKI FINLANDS BANK MAKSAA TÄSTÄ SETELISTÄ VIISI MARKKAA KULLASSA INLÖSER DENNA SEDEL MED FEM MARK I GULD 1909 |
| Reverse description | Brown and blue intaglio print with radiating guilloche lines emanating from the central vignette. At centre, an oval landscape scene shows a boat on a calm lake with trees silhouetted against a luminous sky. Directly below the oval, the Finnish coat of arms — a crowned lion with sword — is set within a wreath. Denomination numerals '5' appear at upper left and upper right within the guilloche border. Legislative text runs vertically along both side margins in Finnish, Swedish and Russian. |
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| Comments |
Finland operated under the Russian Imperial monetary system but maintained its own central bank and currency — the markka — a deliberate arrangement that survived from 1811 through the entire Tsarist period. This note's trilingual title (Finnish, Swedish, Russian) was not decorative bilingualism but a legal requirement reflecting Finland's status as an autonomous Grand Duchy under the Tsar, where Russian carried official weight alongside the two domestic languages.
The "kullassa" / "i guld" / "zolotom" suffix — meaning "in gold" — was a direct response to chronic distrust of paper money following the turbulent monetary conditions of the 1860s–1880s. Declaring gold backing on the face of a small-denomination note was a political statement as much as a banking one.
Pick 19B distinguishes a specific signature combination within the 1909 series.