1000 Kuna 1943, Croatia
in Krause book | Number: 12a |
Years of issue: | 01.09.1943 |
Edition: | |
Signatures: | Podpredsjednik: Dr. Junus Mehmedagić, Predsjednik: Dr. Dragutin Toth |
Serie: | Hrvatska Državna Banka |
Specimen of: | 1943 |
Material: | Cotton fiber |
Size (mm): | 176 x 80 |
Printer: | Giesecke und Devrient GmbH, Leipzig |
* All pictures marked are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.

Description
Watermark:
Tuning fork pattern.
Avers:
Zgošćanski stećak (monumental medieval tombstone). Approx. 1353, Museum of Bosnia And Herzegovina, Sarajevo.
The city of Kakanj, in Bosnia, is mentioned, for the first time, in 1392, and it is a very important administrative center of Turkish rule in the region.
The period of medieval Bosnian history is marked by a large number of historical monuments that have survived to the present day, such as, for example, stone gravestones. Of particular interest are tombstones found in the foothills, on the outskirts of Kakanj.
It is indisputable that the Zgošćanski stećak belongs to the period when Bosnia was the most powerful.
Who was buried under the Zgošćanski stećak?
The historian Georg Stratimirovich answers in the Bulletin of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina (XXXVIII, 1926), claiming that this is the grave of Stephen II, who died in 1353, but he notes: "We only assume who the four figures show, This is a man (Stephen II) and two women - his wife and his daughter, whom married later Hungarian King Lajos I. The man who is visible near the tower is the nephew and heir of Banov, Tvrtko. " (www.zedoturizam.ba .bsn)
Also, on banknote, are the patterns from Zgošćanski stećak.
Stećak (Cyrillic: Стећак; plural: Stećci, Стећци) is the name for monumental medieval tombstones that lie scattered across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the border parts of Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. An estimated 60,000 are found within the borders of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rest of 10,000 are found in what are today Croatia (4,400), Montenegro (3,500), and Serbia (2,100), at more than 3,300 odd sites with over 90% in poor condition.
Appearing in the mid 12th century, with the first phase in the 13th century, the tombstones reached their peak in the XIV and XV century, before disappearing during the Ottoman occupation in the very early XVI century. They were a common tradition amongst Bosnian, Catholic and Orthodox Church followers alike, and are often related to the autochthonous Vlach population, however the original ethnic and religious affiliation is still undetermined. The epitaphs on them are mostly written in extinct Bosnian Cyrillic alphabet. The one of largest collection of these tombstones is named Radimlja, west of Stolac in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Stećci were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. It includes a selection of 4,000 stećci at 28 necropolises – of which 22 from Bosnia and Herzegovina, two from Croatia, three from Montenegro, and three from Serbia.
Revers:
Many thanks to Vedran Krušelj from Zagreb, Croatia for the information about girls on banknote.
Here is, what he wrote to me:
"The girl on the left is wearing a muslim folk costume from Sarajevo or the surrounding area. Today, Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Hercegovina. Back in 1943., Sarajevo was part of the Independent State of Croatia.
The girl on the right is wearing a croatian folk costume from village Guča Gora, near Travnik. This area is also today in Bosnia and Hercegovina, but in the 1943 it was part of the Independent State of Croatia. I´m pretty sure of girl´s identity, but I´m still waiting for confirmation of the same, so I don´t want to write her name yet. If I´m right, I´ll have plenty of her photos, even one video. She also died not knowing she ended up on the banknote, even though she had reached old age. She never saw the banknote because the Tito´s partisans occupied the Travnik area before the banknote was released, so it was not even in circulation there.
I personally launched the initiative to identify people on these banknotes only last year. I can´t forgive my older fellow numismatists for not trying this before, while there was still live participans and more possible information. Now it´s a lot harder."
Comments:
Designed by Vladimir Kirin.
Many thanks to the banknote collector, a very responsive and simply beautiful woman - Kate Gibson, from Great Britain, for helping to locate the bas-relief from the obverse of the banknote.
If you find my work useful I will be grateful for any help in supporting the site.
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