Paris Peace Conf. 184.01102/353

Lieutencmt Hugo G. Campagnoli to Professor A. C. Coolidge 26

Subject: Final result of stamping of bank-notes in German-Austria.

The period fixed for stamping of banknotes expired March 29th last. Owing to railway strike towards the end of that period transmission of notes to the various towns was lengthened, so that final exchange was only effected in early April. There are now available statistics up to April 3d, and these figures are final ones, because further exchange is not made except in special cases only. The result of stamping in German-Austria is as follows:

For exchange there were issued in German-Austria stamped notes amounting to 4,804,000,000 crowns
The total amount of banknotes in circulation throughout the old Dual Monarchy on March 23, 1919, was 37,709,000,000
The amount of notes stamped in German-Austria amounts to 12.8 percent, of the entire amount in circulation.

This proportion is particularly interesting because it practically exactly equals the proportion in population. German-Austria without German-Bohemian territory, which could not be considered in connection with the stamping of notes—numbers 6,500,000 inhabitants. The whole former Monarchy, to which the circulation of 37,700,000,000 crowns applies, numbered 50,000,000 inhabitants. The population of German-Austria represents 13 percent, of the whole population of the old Monarchy. Although Vienna as the center for money traffic naturally has great demand in notes, the circulation of notes is proportionally not larger than the proportion in population. So far it was ascertained that the Czech-Slovak State had a circulation of 8,000,000,000 crowns, the Jugo-Slav State of 7,000,000,000 crowns for stamping. Adding circulation in German-Austria this would amount to 20,000,000,000 crowns. Thus there remain 17,000,000,000 crowns of which the larger part should be in Hungary, Galicia and abroad, chiefly in districts occupied by foreign powers. The rest must be taken to be “stored away”; chiefly in the Czecho-Slovak State where considerable sums are reported not to have been registered by country people, because they do not want to suffer confiscation of half the notes.

The circulation of 4,800,000,000 crowns does not represent the entire circulation of German-Austria. There must be added the notes for one and two crowns. According to reports of the Austro-Hungarian [Page 293] Bank the circulation of such notes at the end of 1918 was about 800,000,000 crowns. At the proportion of 12.8 percent. German-Austria’s share in these small notes would be about 100,000,000 crowns. The entire circulation in German-Austria does not reach the amount of 5,000,000,000 crowns previously estimated. When the German-Austrian crown is specially rated in foreign places, this comparatively not excessive circulation must be taken into consideration.

During the stamping small notes of 100 and 20 crowns were chiefly demanded by the public. Of the 100 crown notes 1, 155,000,000 crowns, of 20 crown notes 534,000,000 crowns were issued for stamping. According to number of notes these two kinds were chiefly brought into circulation, whereas in regard to total value large notes of 1,000 crowns of course counted most. The Austro-Hungarian Bank had made great preparations for the stamping and issued in all 5,400,000,000 crowns for this purpose. The quantities consigned to individual branches of the bank were not used up fully and therefore were partly returned to the head-office. Such notes will be stored away by the head-office and will be brought into circulation later on to substitute worn German-Austrian notes.

H. G. Campagnoli
  1. Transmitted to the Commission by Professor Coolidge under covering letter No. 218, April 15; received April 17.