Catalog
50 Kuna
| Issuer | Nezavisna Drzava Hrvatska |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | (Old) Kuna (1941-1945) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Brown and ochre intaglio print with a dense guilloche underprint of stylised floral and geometric vignettes arranged in a grid pattern across the entire field. The large numeral '50' dominates the centre, set above the word 'KUNA' in bold type, with 'NEZAVISNA DRŽAVA HRVATSKA' in a decorative panel at the top; denominator numerals '50' repeat in each corner and along all four borders in a continuous letterpress legend. At lower centre the printer's imprint 'Leipzig – GIESECKE & DEVRIENT – Berlin' is present. A separate geometric rosette device bearing the numeral '50' appears to the left of the main printed area. |
| Reverse lettering | NEZAVISNA DRŽAVA HRVATSKA 50 KUNA (Translation: Independent State of Croatia / 50 Kuna) |
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| Comments |
The NDH — the Croatian fascist puppet state installed by the Axis powers in April 1941 — needed a currency within weeks of its proclamation. This 50 Kuna was part of the hastily commissioned inaugural series, designed and engraved by Ljubo Babić, a prominent Croatian painter and stage designer pressed into service for what amounted to a state-building exercise under extreme time pressure. Giesecke & Devrient in Leipzig handled production, as the new regime had no domestic printing capacity capable of the work.
The kuna denomination itself was a pointed political choice — the name had been used by the medieval Croatian kingdom and carried deliberate nationalist weight.