Catalog
50 Kopecks Turku - Contor
| Issuer | Storfurstendömet Finlands Wäxel-Låne-och Depositions Contor |
|---|---|
| Year | 1813 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Kopecks (0.50) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black on plain paper, the note bears the full institutional title of the Grand Principality of Finland's Exchange, Loan and Deposit Bank in Gothic Swedish script, followed by the denomination text in Swedish, Russian, and Finnish. A circular black seal at lower centre carries the numeral '50', flanked by two manuscript signatures and a handwritten date of 20 January 1813. The serial number is inscribed in manuscript at the upper margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse shows the bleed-through impression of the obverse text in mirror image, characteristic of the thin paper stock used. At lower left, a typeset rectangular cartouche in black bears the denomination '50 K' in bold letterpress type. The circular seal impression from the obverse is also visible in the lower centre. |
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| Comments |
The Wäxel-Låne-och Depositions Contor — the Exchange, Loan and Deposit Office — was established in 1811 as Finland's first proper banking institution following the Russian annexation two years earlier. This 50 Kopeck note, payable at the Turku branch, belongs to the earliest series issued under that institution, predating the founding of the Bank of Finland in 1812 by barely a year — in fact, the Contor was formally reorganized into the Bank of Finland during the very period these notes were circulating.
The denomination in kopecks rather than riksdaler reflects the deliberate monetary realignment toward Russian imperial currency, a policy choice that made these small-value notes practically novel to a Finnish public still thinking in Swedish monetary terms.