In the opinion of many numismatists and collectors, the 100 perper banknote from 1912 represents the „Holy Grail“ of numismatics in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and as such is the subject of many unfulfilled (or fulfilled) desires. These banknotes are extremely difficult to acquire since they are extremely rare. Canceled (punched) specimens can still be seen from time to time, but when we are talking about an intact banknote, without holes, then it is almost impossible. Fortunately, sometimes even the impossible is possible, so we too had the opportunity to hold this banknote in our hands and present it on NumizmatikaNET.
Introduction of its own currency in Montenegro
In 1878, at the Congress of Berlin, Montenegro was recognized as a sovereign and independent state. Consequently, it gained the opportunity to issue its own currency. That opportunity was seized only in 1906, when, based on the decision of Prince Nicholas, minor nickel and copper coins were introduced.
Three years later, the first silver perpers were also put into circulation, and in 1910 gold perpers were minted as well. Montenegro modeled its currency after the „crown standard“ that was valid in Austria-Hungary. According to that standard, the minted coins had the same characteristics (in terms of mass and diameter) as the Austro-Hungarian crown.
The first Montenegrin paper money
Before the outbreak of the First Balkan War in 1912, Montenegro did not have paper money. All money in circulation was metallic, or „jingling“ as the people called it. The war required great material and financial resources, so the Montenegrin government of the time decided to issue treasury notes (vouchers), which served as temporary paper money.
These banknotes (money orders, vouchers) were issued in 6 different denominations: 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, and 100 perpers, in the following quantities:
1 perper – 500,000 pieces
2 perpera - 200,000 pieces
5 perpers – 80,000 pieces
10 perpera – 40,000 pieces
50 perpera – 4,000 pieces
100 perpera – only 1,000 pieces
A total of 825,000 banknotes (money orders) were printed.
These remittance notes, issued to the Main State Treasury, functioned in practice like real paper money, since they were accepted as a means of payment in both public and private payment transactions. Their value was based on the force of law, and the state guaranteed their payment. In financial terms, the issuance of these paper perpers represented a compulsory one-year internal state loan. By issuing these remittance notes, the state obtained two million perpers at the beginning of the war.
The first Montenegrin paper money
Printing and appearance of banknotes
The printing of these banknotes was carried out at the „Unie“ printing house in Prague. If we examine the technical execution of the banknotes, we can conclude that the entire process was carried out very quickly. The banknotes have a simple, linear mirrored design, the front and back of the banknotes are the same, and they are printed on rather thick paper that is not suitable for circulation. The appearance of the 1, 2, 5, and 10 perper banknotes is identical, except for the size, color, and denomination mark. The same is the case with the 50 and 100 perper banknotes.
100 perper banknote
As can be seen from the previous text, the least printed were the 100 perper banknotes, with only 1,000 pieces. By numismatic criteria, this is an extremely small emission. When considering that this is the highest denomination, which at the time represented quite a lot of money, it is logical that very few of these banknotes would remain unwithdrawn during the withdrawal process and that as such they would be rare. And that is precisely the case with this banknote.
In numismatic literature, this banknote is listed under the catalog numbers:
P#6 u Standard Catalog of World Paper Money (Pick),
Cat. No. 16 in the catalog Coins and Banknotes of Yugoslavia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, by Zlatko Viščević.
This banknote, along with others, was put into circulation on November 5, 1912, and was withdrawn on April 1, 1914. It was initially supposed to be valid for only one year, but that was later extended.
The dimensions of the banknote are 176 x 123 mm, but various sources cite different dimensions. Namely, not all banknotes were cut precisely. The banknote does not have any notable security features, and the predominant colors on it are brown, light brown, and ochre.
The front and back of the banknote are identical.
In the central part is the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Montenegro; a crowned double-headed eagle holding a scepter and a royal orb in its claws. On the eagle's chest is a shield depicting a lion. The eagle is placed on a heraldic drapery with a crown at the top. In the corners of the thin frame surrounding the coat of arms there is a small denomination mark of 100.
Above the coat of arms, there is an inscription in Cyrillic: „STOTINA PERPERA“ (One Hundred Perpers). Below that is the text, also in Cyrillic: „The validity of the payment order lasts for one year from the day of the publication of the law authorizing its release into circulation. / Cetinje, October 1, 1912.“.
Below that, on the left is an inscription in Cyrillic: „PRESIDENT / OF THE MAIN STATE CONTROL“ and the signature of Filip Jergović, and on the right is also an inscription in Cyrillic: „MINISTER OF FINANCE“ and the signature of Sekula Drljević.
Above the coat of arms in a rectangular field is an inscription in Cyrillic: „Let the Main State Treasury pay the bearer of this money order / ONE HUNDRED PERPERS“.
To the left and right of the coat of arms is a large denomination marking of 100.
The entire surface of the banknote's design is filled with various linear decorative elements. The design of the banknote is bordered by a frame, and in each corner of the frame is the denomination marking 100. At the bottom right below the frame is the printer's mark in Latin script: „UNIE – PRAGUE“. There are no blank areas on the banknote; instead, the entire surface of the paper is overprinted with a mesh halftone screen.
The serial number on the banknote is otherwise located in the upper part of the coat of arms. All banknotes bear the series designation in Cyrillic: „Series A“ and a five-digit serial number. The series designation and serial number are printed in black.
The numbering of these banknotes was done manually, and as a result, errors occurred. Specifically, these banknotes have a serial number on the obverse and on the reverse, and ideally, the banknotes should have an identical number on each side; however, it happened that one number was printed on the obverse and the next consecutive number on the reverse.
The banknote presented here has no serial number and features only a series designation.
When these banknotes were withdrawn, they were cancelled by perforation, so the cancelled (withdrawn) specimens have two large holes. During cancellation, care had to be taken to ensure that the serial number remained visible. On the numismatic market, these cancelled banknotes are mostly present, while uncancelled ones are extremely rare.
According to the catalog Coins and Banknotes of Yugoslavia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia by author Zlatko Viščević, the following varieties exist for this banknote:
Cat. No. 16.1 – Banknotes with normal numbering (same number on the obverse and reverse).
Cat. No. 16.2 – Banknotes with normal numbering, but cancelled with two holes.
Cat. No. 16.3 – Banknotes with misnumbering (different numbers on the obverse and reverse).
Cat. No. 16.4 – Banknotes with incorrect numbering, but cancelled with two holes.
Cat. No. 16.5 – Banknotes without serial number (series designation only).
Number of known copies
According to legal provisions, these banknotes (money orders) were supposed to be withdrawn one year from the date of issue. However, that deadline was officially extended until February 1, 1914. De facto, they were exchanged even after that deadline, for a few more months.
The literature (Novaković) states that out of the total quantity of 100 perper banknotes, 994 were withdrawn (and cancelled). Therefore, only 6 pieces remained unexchanged, or uncancelled. This is merely a theoretical figure, as the number of available specimens on the numismatic market is even smaller.
As for banknotes without a serial number, it is known that only two exist. One is this one presented in this article, which is in fairly good condition, and the other is reportedly located in the USA and is in significantly worse condition (it is torn and taped together).
Numismatic value
What tickles almost everyone's imagination is the question: how much are these specimens worth? Numismatic literature will mostly cite the „collector's price“ (LP/LC), which means that it is impossible to determine the market price, or a price that would result from sales statistics of a particular specimen on the market. In such cases, the price is arbitrary and depends on the agreement between the seller and the buyer.
Although we rarely deal with prices and value estimations on the NumizmatikaNET portal, this time we will make an exception and provide a brief review of the value. There is also a practical reason, because after the publication of the accompanying video and article, countless inquiries will start anyway – How much is this banknote worth?
A poorer quality specimen of the banknote without a serial number was offered in 2021 at a Heritage Europe auction and it reached a price of 9000 EUR. When auction commissions are added to that, that banknote was paid over 10000 EUR. It is worth keeping in mind that this is a torn (damaged) piece, which is also taped together with scotch tape. Although the description states F/VF quality, this should be taken with a grain of salt, because torn banknotes are generally a low grade of preservation – VG.
The banknote presented here is very solidly preserved; it is a better VF or perhaps even VF+ grade of preservation. As such, it should in all likelihood be worth at least 4 times more than this torn one, so around 40,000 EUR. However, determining the exact market value is in principle very difficult to determine, because it is a truly rare piece and ultimately it all comes down to how much someone is willing and able to pay.
Gallery
Author: Zlatko Viščević
Literature: Pavle V. Novaković, Perper – crnogorski novac, 1st edition, Cetinje, 2004; Vitomir Sokolović, Papirna novčanica – uputnica od 100 perpera Kraljevine Crne Gore, izdana 1912. godine, Numizmatičar, no. 2, SND, Belgrade, 1979; Zlatko Viščević, Kovanice i novčanice Jugoslavije, Slovenije, Hrvatske, Bosne i Hercegovine, Srbije, Crne Gore i Makedonije, 2nd edition, Kastav, 2011.
