50 Banica

The Nezavisna Država Hrvatska — the Ustaše puppet state installed by the Axis powers in April 1941 — introduced the kuna as its currency that same year, replacing the Yugoslav dinar. This 50 banica fractional note was part of the auxiliary coinage-replacement series issued as metal shortages made small coin production impractical. Ljubo Babić, a legitimately distinguished Croatian painter and stage designer, handled both the design and engraving — an unusual concentration of artistic responsibility in one hand for a wartime emergency issue.

The HDT in Zagreb produced the entire run domestically, which was itself a point of ideological significance for a regime obsessed with demonstrating administrative self-sufficiency.