Vereinsmark

The Vereinsmark (Portuguese: Marco de União, English: Unionmark, symbol: ?, code: KRV), is the official currencies of Karnia-Ruthenia and Taslavia, being also the country's main domestic currency and legal tender. It is subdivided into 100 x (abbreviated: X). Backed by a copper reserve, the Vereinsmark is issued by the Imperial Bank of Karnia-Ruthenia in the form of X at a fixed exchange rate of 1 to X copper milligram. The currency is sometimes referred to as Unionmark in English. The Vereinsmark was introduced in 2022 as a way to stimulate and restructure Karnia-Ruthenia's domestic economy after the union with Delvera and Occidia, with a currency with real usability (as opposed to a symbolic currency, like most micronational currencies) and a real exchange and trading value.

Etimology
Originally, Mark denoted a mass unit of approximately 234g. In Northern Germany, especially Hamburg and Lübeck as well as in much of trade in the Baltic region, the customary unit of account was the mark valued at 1⁄3 of a Reichsthaler, a silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the following 300 years. The denomination of mark for a national currency already was in use, but instead of nominate it in reference a single entity of the Karno-Ruthenian Empire, during the studies of the development of a new currency the Vereinsthaler was found. The Vereinsthaler (German:, union thaler) was a standard silver coin used in most German states and the Austrian Empire in the years before German unification. With a little adaptation, the concept of a new mark to unify the claims for a common and representative currency were achieved, and Vereinsmark means, simply, "Union Mark".

Background
Right after the foundation of Ruthenia, the kingdom use the Brazilian Real while the Duchy of Libertia used the Euro. On February 2015, the Minister of Finances Yuri de Faria, wished implement and develop the national financial system, and the first step would be the development of the Ruthenian currency. After the unanimous adoption of the bill presented by the Minister, creating the Ruthenian Mark, it was necessary to create the design of the coin. The task fell to the Duke of Libertia. Skilled artist, he used Ruthenian and Lomellinian symbols, to integrate the culture of the kingdom and of the duchy in the currency that would split from then on. After the signature of the Karno-Ruthenian Compromise of 2016, the Ruthenian Mark became the official currency of the state members of the Empire. On 20 February 2017, after the Principality of Nossia became a protectorate of the Empire, it became the first foreign micronation to use the Ruthenian Mark. In 2020, the Kingdom of Taslavia would also adopt it, followed by the Roschfallen in 2021. The Duke designed the two series, being the first banknotes printed from the second series, on April 2018. The first samples of the second series are now archived in the Imperial Collection. With the expansion of the Empire, the Ruthenian Mark was adopted as a common currency by all state members, but always persisted the idea of develop a common currency that also were commonly representative. By the end of 2021, when the Grand Republic of Delvera and the North American Confederation joined Karnia-Ruthenia, their sucessfull currencies, the Delveran Curo and the Occidian Amero influenced the discussions on the subject and soon a new project for a common currency was in march. The result was the introdution of Vereinsmark by 2022.

Relationship to the Kupfermark
During the Kupfermark creation process, the Ebenthal economic team, responsible for the currency, was in constant contact with the Delvera economic team, from Karnia-Ruthenia, which was developing the Vereinsmark. As the development of Kupfermark was inspired by the Curo currency system, currency of the former Grand Republic of Delvera, which was incorporated into Karnia-Ruthenia, the exchange of knowledge brought the idea of creating a fixed exchange rate between Kupfermark and Vereinsmark, which would follow a copper-backed monetary system similar to that of the Ebenthali currency.

Exchange rates and value
Conversion diagram: 1 Vereinsmark = 0.00? copper gram = the value of a gram of copper in the currency to be exchanged.

Inaugural series
The first series of Vereinsmarks banknotes were officially launched on X August 2022. The banknotes were designed by Oscar I and approved by the Ministry of Finances some days later. The images used in the obverse represent Karno-Ruthenian values and aesthetic perceptions using the paintings of the German-Austrian painter Wilhelm Gause (1853-1916) and Alexander Pock (1871-1950), while the reverse has been standardized, using the portrait of the Emperor and some representation of the concept used in the obverse, mostly made by the Hungarian artist Zalan Kertai.