Polish marka

The marka (alternatively mark; marka polska, abbreviated Mp, Polish-language plural declensions: marki, marek) was the currency of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Republic of Poland between 1917 and 1924. It was subdivided into 100 Fenigów (phonetic Polish spelling of German "Pfennig"), like its German original after which it was modelled. During the World War I, in 1915, after defeating the Russians, the Central Powers occupied the whole territory of the former Congress Poland and appointed two Governors General: a German (Hans Hartwig von Beseler) in Warsaw and an Austro-Hungarian (de) in Lublin. The civil administration of the country was laid into the hands of imported German (mostly Prussian) and Austrian (mostly Polish) officials. Four currencies circulated: the Russian ruble, the papiermark, the ostrubel and the Austro-Hungarian krone. On December 9 the following year, after consultations with the Austrians, the chief of the German Administration, de proclaimed the foundation of a new bank, called the Polish Loan Bank (Polska Krajowa Kasa Pożyczkowa) and the creation of a new currency unit, the Polish marka, equivalent to the German mark. The stability of the new currency was guaranteed by the German Reichsbank up to the amount of 1 billion marks. In 1917 new coins (1f, 5f, 10f and 20f) and banknotes (Mp , Mp 1, Mp 2, Mp 5, Mp 10, Mp 20, Mp 50, Mp 100, Mp 500 and Mp 1,000) were introduced and started to replace all the previously used currencies. All the banknotes were white with the White Eagle of Poland on a red field. At the time of the Armistice of November 11, 1918, 880 million marks were already in circulation. The new Polish government decided to retain the marka as the national currency and to allow the Loan Bank to continue operating. The following year the German-made banknotes were replaced in circulation with new locally printed ones. These featured Polish historical motifs. The notes of Mp 1, Mp 10 and Mp 500 depicted Queen Jadwiga, the notes of Mp 5, Mp 10, Mp 100 and Mp 1,000 depicted Tadeusz Kościuszko.