1000 Dinars (1000 Dinara), National Bank, Yugoslavia, 1920 (Pick 23)

This 1000 Dinars note was issued in Yugoslavia by the National Bank, dated 1920. It belongs to the Dinar (1918-1941) currency system. Issuing authority and period recorded in the catalogue: Alexander I (Александар I) (1921-1929). It measures 196 × 122 mm and is printed on paper. The Standard Catalog of World Paper Money lists the type as Pick 23.

Obverse: The first banknote of the National Bank of Yugoslavia produced in 4 colors. On the obverse of the banknote, on the left, there is a depiction of St. George in a classic antique war uniform, with a red cloak, on a white horse, slaying a dragon. At the bottom right is the Gračanica monastery (monastery of the Holy Mother of God). To the right in the middle is the watermark and above that is the official coat of arms. A fruit is shown in the middle below the name of the country. Its lettering reads “НАРОДНА БАНКА / КРАЉЕВИНЕ СРБА, ХРВАТА И СЛОВЕНАЦА / плаћа доносиоцу / ХИЉАДУ ДИНАРА / у металној законској монети / Београд, 30 новембра 1920 / Члан управе Гувернер / 1000 / Фалсификовање новчаница казни / се по прописима Кривичног / Законика, који вреде за кривице / због прављења лажног новца / G. FRAIPONT DELOCHE SC.”. Translation given in the catalogue: “NATIONAL BANK THE KINGDOM OF THE SERBS, CROATIANS AND SLOVENIANS pays the bearer A THOUSAND DINARS in metallic legal tender Belgrade, November 30, 1920 Board member Governor 1000 Forgery of banknotes is punishable according to the regulations of the ”.

Reverse: In the middle, below the name of the country, there is a motive of a Serbian plowman with oxen in the field, in distinctive clothing with a hat. Left in the middle is the watermark. In the upper left corner is shown a panorama of the bridge in Sarajevo (Šeher-Ćehaj bridge and the Alifakovac settlement), in the upper right corner a panorama of Ljubljana (city center and old town), in the lower right corner a panorama of the city of Zagreb (view from Ban Jelačić square towards the cathedral) and in the middle below the panorama of the city of Belgrade (part of the town on the Danube river). Its lettering reads “NARODNA BANKA / KRALJEVINE SRBA, HRVATA I SLOVENACA / KRALJEVINE SRBOV, HRVATOV IN SLOVENCEV / Plaća donosiocu / 1000 DINARA / u metalnoj zakonskoj moneti / G. FRAIPONT”. Translation given in the catalogue: “NATIONAL BANK THE KINGDOM OF THE SERBS, CROATIANS AND SLOVENIANS (in two languages, Croatian and Slovenian) pays the bearer A THOUSAND DINARS in metallic legal tender”.

The note was printed by Banque de France, Paris, France. Design is credited to Gustave Fraipont. Engraving is credited to Ernest Deloche. Watermark: Portrait of Dorđe Petrović-Karaorđe in profile. Signatures recorded for the type: Marko Stojanović (MS) (Board Member); Đorđe Vajfert (ĐV) (Governor of the National Bank). Demonetized: 21 December 1931. Identification note: match the value, issuing bank, printed date and Pick number together; dates and signature combinations distinguish sub-varieties, which are not separated in this entry. Details follow the Numista catalogue entry and the Standard Catalog reference it cites; they have not been checked against a central-bank archive.