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50 Mark Ida rahas / Ost
| Issuer | Tallinna Arwe-Koda (Clearinghouse in Reval) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919-1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1918-1927) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Estonian-language version of the note. The upper portion carries a handwritten serial number at left and a perforated denomination numeral at centre-top, with a violet overprint obligation text across the top margin. The central text block, set in letterpress on a fine guilloche underprint, reads 'Arwe-koda (Clearinghouse) Tallinnas' followed by the denomination 'Mark 50 — Ida rahas' with a handwritten amount filled in on the dotted line. Several paragraphs of Estonian-language legal text explain the nature of the clearinghouse obligation, concluding with the place and handwritten date 'Tallinnas, 26. veebruaril 1919' and two manuscript signatures below 'Arwe-koja Walitsus', accompanied by a circular violet Arwe-koda Tallinnas stamp. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | German-language version of the same instrument on the reverse. The upper margin bears a violet overprint obligation text, with the handwritten serial number repeated at upper left and the perforated denomination at centre-top. Letterpress text on a fine guilloche underprint reads 'Clearinghouse in Reval' followed by 'Mark 50 — Ost' with a handwritten amount on the dotted line. Several paragraphs of German legal text describe the clearinghouse deposit obligation, concluding with 'Reval, den 26. Februar 1919' and two manuscript signatures beneath 'Die Clearinghouse Verwaltung', accompanied by a violet rectangular 'Clearinghouse Reval' stamp. |
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| Comments |
The Tallinna Arwe-Koda — the Tallinn Clearinghouse — issued these notes during an exceptionally turbulent window: Estonia had declared independence in February 1918, fought off both German and Soviet forces, and signed the Treaty of Tartu with Soviet Russia in February 1920, all while building financial infrastructure more or less from scratch. These notes were a stopgap, a local clearing instrument rather than a national currency proper, filling a gap that the nascent Estonian mark system had not yet closed.
The sole security feature is perforation — rudimentary by any standard, and a frank reflection of what the Tallinn printing infrastructure could manage in 1919.