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500 Marka
| Issuer | Eesti Vabariigi Kassatäht (Estonian State Treasury) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Marka |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EESTI VABARIIGI KASSATÄHT VIISSADA MARKA 500 |
| Reverse description | The reverse is executed in olive-green tones with an intricate guilloche underprint at centre, incorporating two large rosette medallions flanking the large numeral "500" above the word "MARKA" in a central cartouche. Denomination numerals "500" also appear in octagonal panels at each upper corner. A multi-line legal tender inscription in Estonian runs across the lower portion of the note, with the year "1923" printed below it. |
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| Comments |
By 1923, the Estonian marka was already a currency on borrowed time. The mark had been adopted in 1919 as a provisional unit pegged loosely to the German mark, but postwar inflation had badly eroded its purchasing power, and the government was actively preparing the transition to the kroon — a reform that would eventually arrive in 1928 at a rate of 100 marka to 1 kroon. A 500 marka note, substantial on paper, represented considerably less than it appeared by the time these were circulating.
Printed domestically by Eesti Riiklik Trükikoda — the Estonian State Printing House in Tallinn — rather than contracted abroad, which was unusual for a small nation still building its institutions barely four years after independence. The choice reflected both a point of national pride and a practical effort to reduce dependence on foreign printers during a period of fiscal instability.