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50 Marka
| Issuer | Eesti Wabariigi (Republic of Estonia, Treasury) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 175 x 115 mm |
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| Obverse description | Printed in olive-brown on cream paper, the note carries a typeset text layout with guilloche border ornaments and oval rosette vignettes at the corners. The central text in Estonian reads 'EESTI WABARIIGI 5% WÕLAKOHUSTUS' (Estonian Republic 5% Bond/Obligation), with the date 'Tähtpäev 1 jaanuari 1920' and serial number below; multilingual marginal text appears in Estonian, German, and French along the left and right borders. Three manuscript signature lines for the Peaminister, Rahaminister, and Riigikassa ülem are printed below the central text body. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in pale olive-green and carries an intricate all-over guilloche underprint with interlaced lace-pattern ornaments filling the entire surface. Two large circular medallions at left and right each bear the numeral '50', flanking a central starburst rosette guilloche. No text inscriptions appear on the reverse. |
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| Comments |
Estonia declared independence in November 1918 and spent the next two years fighting simultaneous wars against Bolshevik Russia and Baltic German forces. This note was issued before either conflict had fully concluded — the Peace of Tartu with Soviet Russia was signed in February 1920, and the series was produced domestically precisely because foreign printing contracts were neither practical nor politically straightforward for a state still asserting its right to exist.
Domestic production by a newly independent government with limited industrial infrastructure left these notes susceptible to uneven ink distribution and paper inconsistencies. The Estonian marka itself was short-lived; hyperinflationary pressure forced a redenomination to the kroon in 1928.