Catalog
50 Centų Provisional
| Issuer | Lietuvos Bankas (Bank of Lithuania) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | LIETUVOS BANKO LAIKINASIS BANKNOTAS Pristačiusiam Lietuvos Bankas keičia į litus penkiosdešimts centų Kaunas, 1922 m. rugsėjo 10 d. LIETUVOS BANKAS Perdirbimas įstatymu baudžiamas (Translation: Lithuanian Bank Provisional Banknote The Bank of Lithuania exchanges for the bearer fifty cents in litas Kaunas, 10 September 1922 Bank of Lithuania Counterfeiting is punishable by law) |
| Reverse description | Printed in purple and green, the reverse centres on a vignette of the Lithuanian coat of arms — the mounted knight known as Vytis — set against a geometric guilloche underprint. Ornamental borders echo the framing style of the obverse, with the denomination and bank title inscribed in the upper and lower panels respectively. |
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| Comments |
Lithuania's first banknotes were issued under considerable pressure — the new central bank opened in 1922 with almost no time to commission a full note series, and the provisional fractional issues that resulted were essentially stopgaps while permanent designs were being prepared. The 50 Centų note (Pick 4) belongs to that hurried first emission, printed on plain paper with none of the security sophistication that would characterize later Lithuanian issues.
The Litas itself had replaced the Ostmark and the short-lived Auksinas in rapid succession. Getting paper into circulation fast mattered more than getting it right.