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| Issuer | Eesti Wabariigi (Republic of Estonia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Marka |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 500 |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Intricate machine-engraved guilloche lathe-work covering both faces of the note, with complex rosette and geometric patterns serving as an anti-counterfeiting measure. |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Estonia's postwar monetary system was built almost from scratch after independence in 1918, with the marka serving as the transitional currency before the kroon replaced it in 1928 at a rate of 100 marka to 1 kroon — a ratio that tells you everything about what inflation did to purchasing power in the intervening years. This 500 marka denomination was printed domestically at a time when Estonian printing infrastructure was still being established, which accounts for the relatively plain production compared to contemporaneous issues from Western European security printers.
The guilloche underprint is the primary counterfeit deterrent — there are no watermark or serial complexity features that would become standard in later Estonian issues.