Catalog
500 Korun
| Issuer | Czechoslovakia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Koruna (1919-1939) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette presents two allegorical figures: a seated woman holding a spool of thread with a potted flower at her feet, and a seated man wearing a knife at his belt with his arm around a nude child beside him. A stylized animal head appears within the design, and Czech text inscriptions are present in the border areas. The composition is rendered in an intricate intaglio style characteristic of early Czechoslovak state issues. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Coat of arms of Bohemia occupies a central position, flanked by perched falcons set within a wreath of fruit, grains, and flowers. A young woman wearing a traditional headscarf appears in the vignette. Multilingual text inscriptions in Czech, German, Hungarian, Polish, Ruthenian, and Slovak reflect the multiethnic character of the early Czechoslovak republic. |
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| Comments |
This 500 Korun note was issued in the immediate aftermath of Czechoslovakia's creation as an independent state — the new republic had declared independence in October 1918 and urgently needed its own currency to replace the Austro-Hungarian krone still circulating on its territory. The provisional solution, used through much of 1919, was to overstamp existing Austro-Hungarian notes; purpose-designed issues like this one were part of the effort to establish a distinct monetary identity as quickly as printing capacity allowed.
P#12 was printed by the American Bank Note Company. A known characteristic of early Czechoslovak issues from this period is paper quality variation between print runs, worth examining closely on any example.