Catalog
500 Marka
| Issuer | Eesti Vabariigi Kassatäht (Estonian Republic Treasury) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920-1921 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1918-1927) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EESTI VABARIIGI KASSATÄHT 500 VIISSADA MARKA |
| Reverse description | The reverse is rendered in pale green and pink tones, with the denomination numerals '500' repeated at left and right within guilloche panels. A central vignette echoes the coat-of-arms motif within a lobed guilloche frame. The upper inscription reads 'EESTI VABARIIGI KASSATÄHT', a legal tender clause 'RIIGIKASSATÄHT ON EESTI VABARIIGI PIIRIDES SEADUSLIK MAKSUABINÕU' runs across the centre, and 'VIISSADA MARKA' appears in bold lettering below, with the series designation 'Seeria II' and printed serial number at lower left and right. |
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| Comments |
Estonia's post-independence treasury notes of 1920–21 were produced domestically at a time when the young republic was still consolidating its printing infrastructure following separation from the Russian Empire and the end of the War of Independence in February 1920. Printing locally was a political choice as much as a practical one — importing currency from abroad carried both cost and symbolic weight that the new government was keen to avoid.
The mark itself was short-lived. Estonia replaced the marka with the kroon in 1928, and most circulating paper had already depreciated significantly through the early 1920s inflation that affected virtually every successor state in the region.