50 Kronen

The Oesterreichisch-ungarische Bank's 1914 50 Kronen entered circulation at almost exactly the moment the dual monarchy mobilized for war. Wartime printing pressures quickly degraded quality control, and later impressions from the same plates show noticeably weaker ink registration compared to the earliest-dated examples — a known issue with this series that collectors regularly encounter.

Josef Pfeiffer was a prolific designer for the bank's Vienna printworks, responsible for much of the high-relief intaglio work that characterizes Austro-Hungarian currency of this period. The watermark is the primary authentication feature; the paper itself was sourced under contract arrangements that would be disrupted within two years of this note's first issue.