Catalog
5 Pfennig Latvia, Mitau, Jelgava
| Issuer | Jelgava (Mitau), City Administration |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Pfennigs (5 Pfennige) (0.05) |
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| Obverse description | Latvian-language text on a floral guilloche underprint, with issuer title 'Jelgawas pilsehtas walde' at top. Denomination '5 Pf.' appears twice flanking 'peezi pfennigi', with serial number at lower left and facsimile signatures at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | German-language text on a matching floral guilloche underprint, with issuer title 'Die Mitausche Stadtverwaltung' at top. Denomination '5 fünf Pfennig 5' at centre, serial number at lower left, and facsimile signatures at lower right. |
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| Comments |
Mitau — now Jelgava — fell under German military occupation in late 1915, and emergency municipal notes like this one were issued to address the immediate collapse of small-denomination coin circulation. The occupying administration retained local civic structures in name, which is why the issuer appears as the City Administration rather than a German military authority.
The Pfennig denomination itself signals the transition: Russian kopeks had effectively vanished from hand-to-hand commerce, and these notes bridged the gap before the German military currency system took hold across the Ober Ost territories.