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50 Marks Independent West Army
| Issuer | Western Volunteer Army (Zapadnaya Dobrovolcheskaya Armiya) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Marks |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The Russian Imperial double-headed eagle coat of arms is set within an ornate oval cartouche at left, with the date 1919 below. The title 'ВРЕМЕННЫЙ РАЗМЕННЫЙ ЗНАК' (Temporary Exchange Token) and denomination 'ПЯТЬДЕСЯТ МАРОК' (Fifty Marks) appear in Cyrillic lettering across the upper portion. A Maltese cross vignette is visible at upper right, with a multi-line Russian text body explaining the legal tender status of the notes, two manuscript signatures, and the serial number at the foot of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed primarily in German, with the denomination 'FUNFZIG MARK' repeated in a bold guilloche border running along all four margins. At left, a square ornamental panel contains the inscription 'FÜNFZIG MARK' within an interlaced frame. The large numeral '50' dominates the right-centre field against a decorative underprint, while a text block in German script occupies the upper-centre area explaining the note's backing by state assets in territories held by the Western Volunteer Army. |
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| Comments |
The Western Volunteer Army — a White Russian force operating in the Baltic under the command of Pavel Bermondt-Avalov — issued this note during its brief, chaotic campaign in late 1919. Bermondt-Avalov's army was never fully recognized by the main White movement, and his attempt to capture Riga in October 1919 turned the Latvians and Lithuanians decisively against the anti-Bolshevik cause in the region. German Freikorps volunteers made up a substantial portion of his force, which made the whole enterprise as much a German irredentist project as a Russian one.
The army collapsed by December 1919. Notes issued under such compressed, unstable conditions rarely circulated long or widely, and the issuing authority itself ceased to exist within weeks.