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5 rubļi Latvia, Mitau, Jelgava
| Issuer | Jelgavas pilsētas valde (Mitausche Stadtverwaltung) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Latvian-language side of this bilingual municipal obligation note, printed in black on pale green guilloche underprint with a geometric Greek-key border running the full perimeter. The issuing authority heading 'Jelgawas pilsehtas walde' appears in large Gothic-style lettering across the upper field, flanked by the denomination '5 rubļi' repeated in all four corners. A small heraldic shield vignette is centred mid-note, surrounded by the promise-to-pay text in Latvian, with a paragraph detailing the 400,000-ruble security guarantee backed by municipal assets valued at 1,593,000 rubles. The lower portion carries the serial number prefixed 'No', the issue authority line referencing the city council resolution of 5 December 1918, and the heading 'Pilsehtas galwa:' followed by a manuscript signature. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | German-language side of the same bilingual municipal obligation, identical in format and colour to the obverse, with black letterpress text on a pale green guilloche underprint enclosed by the same Greek-key border. The heading 'Die Mitausche Stadtverwaltung' is set in bold Gothic blackletter across the upper field, with '5 Rubel' repeated in all four corners. The central vignette reproduces the same heraldic city shield, flanked by the German promise-to-pay text and a detailed guarantee clause referencing 400,000 and 600,000 ruble debt instruments secured by municipal property worth 1,593,000 rubles, with a note that the bills are accepted as legal tender by official payment offices in Courland. The lower section bears the matching serial number, the resolution reference 'vom 5. Dezember 1918', the heading 'Stadthaupt:' and the same manuscript signature as the obverse. |
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Jelgava — known to its German-speaking administrators as Mitau — was occupied by German forces from 1915 and remained under their control through most of 1918. This note was issued by the city administration during that occupation period, when the regular Russian Imperial monetary system had collapsed but Latvian sovereign institutions did not yet exist. Local municipal authorities across the Baltics filled the vacuum with their own emergency scrip, often in both the local language and German, reflecting the dual administrative reality on the ground.
The bilingual issuing authority name — Jelgavas pilsētas valde alongside Mitausche Stadtverwaltung — places this squarely in that uneasy transitional moment before the Latvian declaration of independence on 18 November 1918.