1 Markka, Bank of Finland, 1916

This copy

Accession

OM-00148

Series year

1916

Actually issued

1916

Signatures

This issue carries no bank manager or cashier signature.

Grade

VG (IBNS)

Soiled, heavy wear. Estimated from the archival scan. Folds, soiling and edge condition are visible at this resolution; paper crispness, pinholes, small repairs and pressing are not.

Estimated value

$2 indicative

Category benchmark scaled for grade — an order of magnitude, not an appraisal. Priced 2026-09-07.

Dimensions

99.3 × 60.5 mm (±0.5, from the scan)

Themes

First World WarAutonomous FinlandImperial eagle

The type

Type

1 Markka, Bank of Finland, 1916

Printer

Not established

Rarity

common

Inscriptions

Obverse — the bank of an autonomous duchy

Suomen Pankki / Finlands Bank

The Bank of Finland, issuing its own markka while Finland was still a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire — with the imperial eagle at the head of the note

Symbology

Imperial eagle over a Finnish bank

The Russian double-headed eagle heading a note of the Bank of Finland - an autonomous Grand Duchy with its own currency inside someone else's empire.

What was happening

A markka of the Bank of Finland, issued in 1916 while Finland was still an autonomous Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire — with its own bank, its own currency, and the imperial eagle at the top of the note. Independence came the following year.

This account belongs to the type, not this copy — it is shared by every 1 Markka, Bank of Finland, 1916 in the collection.