50 Markkaa

Finland was an autonomous Grand Duchy under Russian imperial rule when this note was issued, and the Bank of Finland operated under that arrangement — printing domestic currency while nominally subject to St. Petersburg. The 1909 series predates independence by nearly a decade, and the political tension of that period is baked into the institution's every decision during these years.

Pick 12 belongs to a series that remained in circulation well past its intended lifespan, surviving both the declaration of independence in 1917 and the brief, brutal civil war of 1918. Notes that passed through that period show it.