The Museum of Russia Abroad has organized a virtual exhibition dedicated to the 110th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. It presents electronic images of many unique memorial items and documents stored in the museum collections.
Museum of Russian Abroad
The exhibits of the virtual exhibition were banknotes of that time.
As reported by the Museum of Russian Abroad, many relics were transferred to the funds by descendants of direct participants in World War I. Among the exhibits are both witnesses and testimonies of those difficult times.
“Our Philocarty museum collection contains two very rare postcards that introduce us to one of the propaganda techniques of that war, published in Paris in 1914-1915,” the museum reported.
Postcard “Death to the enemies. 1914-1915”. Paris, 1915. Photo: domrz.ru
In particular, among the virtual exhibits there is a postcard “Death to the enemies. 1914-1915”. It was published in Paris in 1915, in the F. Bouchet printing house.
As follows from the description of the exhibit, the front side of the postcard depicts a mighty tree in the center, decorated with the coats of arms of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey. That is, the tree symbolizes the said triumvirate.
However, its base is cut down with an axe, and a precisely aimed cannonball hits the top. On the lower background, miniatures depict symbols of places where significant battles took place.
The second rare postcard is called “Glory and Success to the Allies. 1914-1915”. It was also published in Paris by the same printing house mentioned above.
The plot is roughly the same as the previous postcard. In the center of the front side, there is also a mighty tree. However, there are more coats of arms on its branches – Japan, Montenegro, Serbia, Belgium, Russia and England.
The tree trunk bears the emblem of France with two flags, and a horseshoe below. At the base of the tree is a lying axe. In the background, a peaceful rural scene can be seen against the backdrop of a rising sun, adorned with the words “Paix” (“Peace”).
The virtual exhibition also featured banknotes of that time. Large-scale military actions led to a financial and economic crisis. States spent huge amounts of money on the war. Paper banknotes and small silver and copper coins were issued almost non-stop, and there was a shortage of metal.
“Gradually, coins began to disappear from circulation; there was a catastrophic shortage of small denominations, and a currency crisis was brewing,” say the exhibition’s organizers.
As a result, in 1915 new types of paper money appeared: credit notes with simplified numbering (now each note did not have a unique number), money stamps and treasury change notes.”
Surprisingly, kopecks were issued on paper in the Russian Empire at that time. Several such banknotes are presented at the exhibition, including banknotes of 1 and 50 kopecks issued in 1915.
It was also decided to issue paper notes in denominations of 2, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 kopecks. Interesting fact: notes in denominations of 10, 15 and 20 kopecks never entered circulation, since money-marks of the same denominations were issued. As a result, the bulk of the already issued circulation of such notes was destroyed.
“Lower denominations circulated until mid-1916, until they were also replaced by money-marks,” the museum clarified. “The 50-kopeck denomination lasted the longest (they were produced until 1918). They remained in circulation until the appearance of “sovznak” in 1919.”
In general, the composition virtual exhibition The exhibition includes dozens of exhibits, including authentic photographs from the First World War, rare examples of bonistics, posters, military awards, elements of equipment and uniforms of the Russian Imperial Army, as well as unique items of phaleristics and military field life.
Source: rodina-history.ru
