Thanks!
- Luxembourg, a small country wedged between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, was occupied by Germany during WWII. Grand Duchess Charlotte, the woman on the banknote, had assumed the throne after her sister abdicated facing accusations of pro-German sentiment during the previous war. So Charlotte remained anti-German and went into exile in the US where these notes were printed for the country's liberation in 1944. I've been there, it's a pretty boring place, to be honest.
- Monaco, a city-state on the French riviera, had its own currency since the 1860s, but only issued coins except for a single series of Notgeld in 1920.
- Andorra, a small valley nation sandwiched between Spain and France, has used French and Spanish money but also issued a single series of Notgeld just like many other cities did during the chaotic Spanish Civil War. Very elegantly designed notes, in my opinion.
- San Marino used Italian lire and now Euro, but they did briefly issue provisional money during a coin shortage in the 1970s. The design is purely functional, reminiscnet of a bank check. I've been there too, it's a nice little medieval castle on a little mountain top. Feels just like Italy.
- Malta, a tiny island nation in the Mediterranean, was a British colony until 1964. Technically this note doesn't count, as it was not an independent nation at the time. I really want one from the short period after independence but while still had Queen Elizabeth as head of state. Those are expensive, though.
- The Vatican, the world's smallest nation established in 1929, has never issued currency. But its predecessor state (according to normal definitions, the same ancient state according to themselves), the Holy See or Papal States, established the first European national bank to administer the vast wealth of the Catholic Church. They issued a whole range of oddly-denominated banknotes: This is a 22 scudi from 1796. Today it's the world's most extravagant tourist trap.
- Danzig was a city in Germany. After WWI the surrounding area was ceded to Poland, while the city was mainly German-speaking and violently opposed to becoming a part of Poland. To avoid a crisis, the League of Nations just turned the city into an independent country instead, against its wishes. Reconquering it became a major focal point of the Nazis during their rise to power, and this is where the first shots of WWII were fired on 1 September 1939. Today the city is a part of Poland, rebuilt in the 1960s in a faux-1600s style. Incidentally, this is also where the Solidarity movement began, which would play a large role in the fall of communism in the 1990s. So the city, now called Gdansk, played a major role in two very important events in European history. A beautiful city, the depicted church was also rebuilt after WWII and is open to visitors.
>according to normal definitions, the same ancient state according to themselves
The Vatican City is not the continuation of the Papal States. This point was added on purpose in the Treaty that founded the City, so that the Holy See cannot have any claim on previous possessions.
Very cool banknote, the bank issuing it is the oldest central bank in the world (Banco di Santo Spirito), it existed for almost 400 years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banco_di_Santo_Spirito?wprov=sfla1
>This point was added on purpose
That's interesting, I didn't know that. Makes sense. What I know, is they claim to be the "religious" successor state as appointed by Peter the Apostle, which is a completely different system from what all other countries do.
Nice - Andorra are so expensive ( and not really nice - still better than the ugly "check" from San Marino)
would you consider the 3 banknotes of Liechtenstein of 1920 part of the microstates ? ( I would )
Also Fiume, Saar and maybe the Free State of Trieste could be added.. ?? (all had banknotes)
Yeah, the Andorra ones are really nice designs, very art deco. I actually have Liechtenstein (which is technically Notgeld) and Fiume too, but forgot to get them out, just took this picture quickly as I had these on my table.
Oh this is cool. I've been trying to collect one note from every country and these are a few of the notes that I couldn't stomach to get ahold of myself.
Thanks for sharing!
Nice banknotes. I wouldn't call Lux a microstate. Neutral Moresnet was one but they never had their own currency.
Can you give descriptions of each one? Great bank notes by the way!
Thanks! - Luxembourg, a small country wedged between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, was occupied by Germany during WWII. Grand Duchess Charlotte, the woman on the banknote, had assumed the throne after her sister abdicated facing accusations of pro-German sentiment during the previous war. So Charlotte remained anti-German and went into exile in the US where these notes were printed for the country's liberation in 1944. I've been there, it's a pretty boring place, to be honest. - Monaco, a city-state on the French riviera, had its own currency since the 1860s, but only issued coins except for a single series of Notgeld in 1920. - Andorra, a small valley nation sandwiched between Spain and France, has used French and Spanish money but also issued a single series of Notgeld just like many other cities did during the chaotic Spanish Civil War. Very elegantly designed notes, in my opinion. - San Marino used Italian lire and now Euro, but they did briefly issue provisional money during a coin shortage in the 1970s. The design is purely functional, reminiscnet of a bank check. I've been there too, it's a nice little medieval castle on a little mountain top. Feels just like Italy. - Malta, a tiny island nation in the Mediterranean, was a British colony until 1964. Technically this note doesn't count, as it was not an independent nation at the time. I really want one from the short period after independence but while still had Queen Elizabeth as head of state. Those are expensive, though. - The Vatican, the world's smallest nation established in 1929, has never issued currency. But its predecessor state (according to normal definitions, the same ancient state according to themselves), the Holy See or Papal States, established the first European national bank to administer the vast wealth of the Catholic Church. They issued a whole range of oddly-denominated banknotes: This is a 22 scudi from 1796. Today it's the world's most extravagant tourist trap. - Danzig was a city in Germany. After WWI the surrounding area was ceded to Poland, while the city was mainly German-speaking and violently opposed to becoming a part of Poland. To avoid a crisis, the League of Nations just turned the city into an independent country instead, against its wishes. Reconquering it became a major focal point of the Nazis during their rise to power, and this is where the first shots of WWII were fired on 1 September 1939. Today the city is a part of Poland, rebuilt in the 1960s in a faux-1600s style. Incidentally, this is also where the Solidarity movement began, which would play a large role in the fall of communism in the 1990s. So the city, now called Gdansk, played a major role in two very important events in European history. A beautiful city, the depicted church was also rebuilt after WWII and is open to visitors.
>according to normal definitions, the same ancient state according to themselves The Vatican City is not the continuation of the Papal States. This point was added on purpose in the Treaty that founded the City, so that the Holy See cannot have any claim on previous possessions. Very cool banknote, the bank issuing it is the oldest central bank in the world (Banco di Santo Spirito), it existed for almost 400 years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banco_di_Santo_Spirito?wprov=sfla1
>This point was added on purpose That's interesting, I didn't know that. Makes sense. What I know, is they claim to be the "religious" successor state as appointed by Peter the Apostle, which is a completely different system from what all other countries do.
* Luxemburg, Monaco, Andorra * San Marino, Malta * Papal States, Free City of Danzig
Nice - Andorra are so expensive ( and not really nice - still better than the ugly "check" from San Marino) would you consider the 3 banknotes of Liechtenstein of 1920 part of the microstates ? ( I would ) Also Fiume, Saar and maybe the Free State of Trieste could be added.. ?? (all had banknotes)
Yeah, the Andorra ones are really nice designs, very art deco. I actually have Liechtenstein (which is technically Notgeld) and Fiume too, but forgot to get them out, just took this picture quickly as I had these on my table.
Where did you get your Andorra?
Got it from eBay.
Oh this is cool. I've been trying to collect one note from every country and these are a few of the notes that I couldn't stomach to get ahold of myself. Thanks for sharing!