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50 Ost Markių
| Issuer | Lietuvos Ūkio Bankas (Lithuanian Economy Bank) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919-1920 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Blue-green guilloche underprint covers the field, with large numeral '50' medallions at left, center-bottom, and right. The bank name LIETUVOS ŪKIO BANKAS is set in bold letterpress at top and repeated in the central text panel, with VILNIUS — KAUNAS below. Two manuscript signatures appear at bottom flanking the central '50' vignette, with role designations Direktorius and Iždininkas. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Lietuvos Ūkio Bankas Vilnius Kaunas Šio čekio padavėjui Lietuvos Ūkio Bankas Ir visi jo Skyriai išmoka Penkiasdešimts Vokiečių arba Ost Markių N: 024704 * Direktorius Iždininkas |
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| Comments |
Lietuvos Ūkio Bankas was a short-lived private commercial institution, and these Ost Markių notes occupy an odd corner of early Lithuanian monetary history — they circulated during the chaotic interregnum when the German Ostmark was being phased out but the Lithuanian Litas had not yet been established. The newly independent state had no central bank and no sovereign currency, so commercial banks stepped into the gap.
The denomination itself reflects that transitional moment: "Ost Markių" is simply the Lithuanian genitive plural of Ostmark, a German military occupation currency that had no business still anchoring transactions in a newly sovereign republic.