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50 Heller
| Issuer | Fürstentum Liechtenstein (Principality of Liechtenstein) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 80 × 54 mm |
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| Obverse description | Pink central panel enclosed within an ornate dark blue letterpress border with decorative scrollwork and foliate cartouches at the corners and sides. The denomination "Fünfzig Heller" is rendered in large Gothic blackletter script at centre, above a floral underprint vignette, with the issuer title at top and a redemption clause in smaller Gothic text below. Numeral "50" appears at lower left and right, with two facsimile signatures and their titles printed at the foot of the central panel. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The entire reverse is occupied by a finely detailed blue letterpress vignette of a cobblestone street scene in Vaduz, with traditional Alpine townhouses lining the right side, a lamp post at centre, and dense tree foliage rising toward the upper portion of the composition. Vaduz Castle and the surrounding mountain backdrop are visible through the trees in the upper middle ground, rendered in a linear illustrative style. An artist's signature appears in the lower right corner of the vignette. |
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| Comments |
Liechtenstein issued its own emergency small-change notes in 1920 because the newly independent Austrian state had cut off the coin supply that had previously circulated freely across the region. The principality had no central bank and no mint — these Heller notes were a stopgap, issued by the government itself rather than any banking institution, to address a shortage of everyday transactional coinage.
The series is scarce simply because Liechtenstein's population at the time was under 8,000. Total print runs were tiny, and the notes were withdrawn once the 1923 customs union with Switzerland stabilized the currency situation.