Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
12 Markkaa
| Issuer | Bank of Finland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1863-1875 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 12 Markkaa |
| 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 | Green-tinted note with a male figure holding a stick and wearing a cap at left, and a young woman wearing a scarf at right, flanking the central text block. Denomination rendered in both Swedish and Finnish at left and right respectively, with the main obligation text in Swedish at centre. Series year 1862 appears on the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The 12 markkaa denomination is an oddity by any standard — a duodecimal unit born from Finland's transitional moment between the Russian ruble system and its own decimal markka currency. The Bank of Finland introduced the markka in 1860, but early denominations still reflected the old ruble-kopek ratios: 1 ruble equaled 4 markkaa, making the 12 markkaa note a clean 3-ruble equivalent, useful in a bilingual commercial environment where merchants still quoted prices in both systems.
Fadejev was a St. Petersburg-based engraver, and his involvement reflects Finland's administrative position as a Russian Grand Duchy — the note's artistic origins lie firmly in the imperial capital rather than Helsinki.