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20 Krone on 5 Dinars 1919, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

in Krause book Number: 16a
Years of issue: 01.02.1919
Edition:
Signatures: Министар Финансиjа: Момчило А. Нинчић (in office 1918-1919)
Serie: Krone Provisional Issue
Specimen of: 01.02.1919
Material: Cotton fiber
Size (mm): 110 х 76
Printer: National printing office, Paris

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20 Krone on 5 Dinars 1919

Description

Watermark:

Avers:

20 Krone on 5 Dinars 1919

Pattern on background.

Милош Обилић Милош ОбилићOn left side is a medallion with an image of Miloš Obilić (Милош Обилић).

Miloš Obilić (died 1389) was a Serbian knight in the service of Prince Lazar, during the invasion of the Ottoman Empire. He is not mentioned in contemporary sources, but he features prominently in later accounts of the Battle of Kosovo as the assassin of the Ottoman sultan Murad I. Although the assassin remains anonymous in sources until the late 15th century, the dissemination of the story of Murad's assassination in Florentine, Serbian, Ottoman and Greek sources suggests that versions of it circulated widely across the Balkans within half a century after the event.

It is not certain whether Obilić actually existed, but Lazar's family – strengthening their political control - "gave birth to the myth of Kosovo", including the story of Obilić. He became a major figure in Serbian epic poetry, in which he is elevated to the level of the most noble national hero of medieval Serbian folklore. Along with the martyrdom of Prince Lazar and the alleged treachery of Vuk Branković, Miloš's deed became an integral part of Serbian traditions surrounding the Battle of Kosovo. In the 19th century, Miloš also came to be venerated as a Saint in the Serbian Church.

Denominations in numerals repeated three times, in words centered (right of center).

Revers:

20 Krone on 5 Dinars 1919

Floral pattern (branches with leaves).

Centered is Caduceus, entwined by oak branches.

Caduceus, as a symbol of commerce.

The caduceus is the staff, carried by Hermes, in Greek mythology. The same staff was also borne by heralds in general, for example by Iris, the messenger of Hera. It is a short staff entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings. In Roman iconography, it was often depicted being carried in the left hand of Mercury, the messenger of the gods, guide of the dead and protector of merchants, shepherds, gamblers, liars, and thieves.

As a symbolic object, it represents Hermes (or the Roman Mercury), and by extension trades, occupations, or undertakings associated with the god. In later Antiquity, the caduceus provided the basis for the astrological symbol representing the planet Mercury. Thus, through its use in astrology and alchemy, it has come to denote the elemental metal of the same name. It is said the wand would wake the sleeping and send the awake to sleep. If applied to the dying, their death was gentle; if applied to the dead, they returned to life.

Denominations in numerals are on right and left sides, in words centered.

Comments:

The banknote has red overprint 20 Круна (Kronen)!

The krone was a short-lived, provisional currency used in parts of the then newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes which had previously been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

After World War I, Austria-Hungary broke up into many states and its southeastern portion merged with Serbia to form the KSCS. The krone replaced the Austro-Hungarian krone at par on November 12, 1918. It circulated alongside the Serbian dinar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia with an exchange rate of 1 Dinar = 4 Kronen. The exact date at which the krone ceased to circulate is unclear, with one source indicating that the krone was still in circulation at the end of 1922.

The 1919 First Provisional Issue of the Yugoslav krone was (very similar to the Banknotes of the Czechoslovak Koruna (1919) issued on 1912 Austro-Hungarian banknotes (with a black validating oval overprint) in 10, 20, 50, 100, and 1,000 Kronen denominations. The 1919 Second Provisional Issue contained the same denominations of 1912 Austro-Hungarian notes, but instead of an oval overprint, adhesive stamps were used for validation. The stamps on 10, 20 and 50 Kronen were trilingual (Serbian, Croatian, and Slovenian), while stamps on the 100 and 1000 krone notes could be any of the three languages.

A brief 1919 dinar issue (1⁄2, 1, and 5 Dinara) was replaced by the Ministry of Finance of the KSCS with a 1919 Krone Provisional Issue ("krone on dinar" notes), which were printed as Dinar and overprinted with Krone at the ratio of 1 Dinar = 4 Kronen. Denominations issued were 2, 4, 20, 40, 80, 400 and 4000 Kronen on 1⁄2, 1, 5, 10, 20, 100 and 1000 Dinara. Only the 2 Kronen on 1⁄2 dinar and 4 Kronen on 1 Dinar had variants without the overprint. It is as yet ambiguous as to whether the overprinted version was issued before or after.