bavarikon4UPaper money in Finland
Finland belonged to the Kingdom of Sweden until 1809. In the 18th century, there were repeated armed conflicts with Russia, which occupied parts of Finland. The Swedish King Gustav III (1771-1792) started another war against Russia in 1788. This Russo-Swedish War mainly took place in Finland. Nine major battles took place there between Russian and Swedish troops. The first known paper money issue in Finland is related to this context. The Royal Swedish War Commissariat issued paper notes in 1790, presumably to provide the armies with cash.
Finland became an autonomous part of the Russian Empire as a Grand Duchy in 1809. In addition to the Swedish banknotes used as means of payment, there were now banknotes in Russian currency, the rouble. The issuer was a state bank, The Exchange, Loan and Deposit Office of the Grand Duchy of Finland. These notes were accepted for payment by all state treasuries, but were also commonly used as a means of payment in private transactions. The main text on the banknotes is in Swedish, and the denomination is also given in Russian and Finnish. The banknotes remained in circulation until 1860.
In 1811, the Suomen Pankki (Bank of Finland) was established by Tsar Alexander I (ruled 1801-1825). From 1840 onwards, it was allowed to issue banknotes. In addition to its notes, banknotes from Russian and Swedish banks as well as Finnish banks were still in circulation. It was designated the sole central bank by law in 1886 and continues to exercise this function today. The banknotes from the time of the Grand Duchy reflect the political situation: they are trilingual in Finnish, Russian and Swedish.
Finland declared independence from Russia in 1917. The new political situation led to a civil war and subsequently to a constitutional dispute in parliament. Finally, an agreement was reached and the Republic of Finland was established in June 1919. After independence, the banknotes from 1909 were still in circulation. New banknotes finally came into circulation from 1918.
>> This collection is part of the holdings of "Paper money in Europe" of the Giesecke+Devrient Stiftung Geldscheinsammlung (Giesecke+Devrient foundation: collections of bank notes).