Today the site recalls and shows the evolution of Russian banknotes, starting from the era of Catherine II and ending with a limited series of banknotes of the new Russia in honor of the Olympic Games in Sochi 2014.

The first paper money of the Russian Empire

The first paper money in the Russian Empire were banknotes of 25, 50, 75 and 100 rubles, issued in 1769.

They were printed on white paper with a watermark. It was the peak of technology back then.

The new Russian money was called banknotes and was printed in two banks established by Empress Catherine II in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The official purpose of replacing copper money with paper money was the need to reduce the cost of issuing money, although they say that in fact, in this way the wise empress raised funds to organize the Russian-Turkish war.

State credit notes 1843−1865.

The introduction of new technology in the State Paper Procurement Expedition made it possible to improve the appearance of tickets and enhance their protection.

Everything is done in traditional colors: 1 rub. — yellow, 3 rub. — green, 5 rub. — blue, 10 rub. — red, 25 rub. — purple, 50 rub. - gray and 100 rub. - brown. The front inscription with the number and coat of arms of Russia is made with black paint.

On the reverse side the text is written in black paint, and on tickets worth 100 rubles. color epigastric mesh - rainbow print (iris). This is the first time this has been done. Subsequently, iris was used on grids very often.

"Petenka"

The largest banknote of the Russian Empire is the 500 ruble banknote, issued from 1898 to 1912.

500 ruble banknote

The size of the bill is 27.5 cm by 12.6 cm. In 1910, one “petenka” was two annual salaries of the average Russian worker.

Kerenki

Banknotes that were issued by the Provisional Government in Russia in 1917, and in the period from 1917 to 1919 by the State Bank of the RSFSR on the same cliches before the advent of Soviet banknotes, were called “Kerenki”, named after the last chairman of the Provisional Government A.F. Kerensky.

As banknotes, they were valued very low, and the people gave preference to royal money or banknotes of the government, which at that time seized power in a particular territory.

Small kerenoks (20 and 40 rubles) were supplied on large uncut sheets without perforation, and during the payment of salaries they were simply cut off from the sheet. A sheet of 50 kerenoks with a total denomination of 1000 rubles was popularly called a “piece”. They were printed in different colors, on inappropriate paper, and sometimes on the back of product and product labels.

250 ruble banknote 1917 Year of release

Limbard

One billion ruble banknote

In the early 1920s, during a period of hyperinflation, the Transcaucasian Soviet Socialist Republic (which is the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Georgian SSR) issued a banknote with a face value of 1 billion rubles (colloquially - limeard, lemonard).

One billion ruble banknote

On the front side of the bill the denomination was depicted in numbers and in words and contained warning inscriptions, and on the reverse side the artists depicted a female worker, the coat of arms of the ZSFSR and floral ornaments.

Paper chervonets

The largest bill in terms of purchasing power after 1917 was the 25 Soviet chervonets bill.

It was backed by 193.56 grams of pure gold. It is worth noting that simultaneously with the paper chervonets issued in the fall of 1922, the Soviets began issuing gold chervonets in the form of 900-carat coins.

In size, the Soviet chervonets fully corresponded to the pre-revolutionary 10 ruble coin.

Payment checks from Natursoyuz

In 1921, during the rampant hyperinflation of Soviet rubles and famine, the Kyiv Natural Union issued settlement checks worth 1 pood of bread. Natural checks were issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 natural rubles or poods.

It was reported that “the smallest denomination of the Union’s natural kopeck is equal to 1 natural kopeck, which is 1/100 of a pound of rye flour, 10 natural kopecks is 1 share, and 100 natural kopecks is 1 natural ruble (a pound of rye flour).”

Currency reform of 1947

Ticket worth 1 rub. printed on the front side using the typographic method in two colors, and on the back side using the Oryol method in five colors, including iris.

USSR Bank tickets 1961

Tickets are worth 10 and 25 rubles. printed on the front side using a metallographic method on a two-color printing grid, and on the reverse side - typographic printing on an Oryol five-color substrate grid. All bank notes have two six-digit numbers. Paper with a general watermark.

Tickets are worth 100 rubles. similar to tickets for 50 rubles, but the Oryol grid is on the front side. Metallographic printing on the front and back sides.

Checks of Vneshtorgbank of the USSR

In the USSR there was a chain of stores “Beryozka”, where they accepted checks of the “D” series.

Such checks represented a monetary obligation of the State Bank (Vneshtorgbank) of the USSR to pay the amount specified in the check and were intended for payments to certain categories of citizens for goods and services. All checks were printed at GOZNAK.

Coupons for scarce goods. USSR

In the early 1990s, the Soviet Union was hit by massive shortages, and money alone was no longer enough to purchase goods.

The Soviet bureaucracy remembered the proven method of distributing scarce products using cards, but at the same time used the delicate word “coupons”.

Tickets of the State Bank of the USSR, sample 1991−92.

When the collapse of the USSR began (1991−1995), the ruble began to be gradually withdrawn from circulation. The last country to abandon its currency on May 10, 1995 was Tajikistan.

Bank of Russia ticket samples 1995

Bank of Russia tickets from 1995

The designer who developed the design for most Soviet banknotes was the engraver and artist Ivan Ivanovich Dubasov.

Bank of Russia tickets from 1997

100 rubles, 1997 model

500 rubles, model 1997

Vertical banknote

100-ruble banknote issued for the 2014 Olympics

For the 2014 Olympics, the Bank of Russia issued a commemorative banknote with a face value of 100 rubles. The total circulation of the banknote is 20 million copies. This is the first Russian vertically oriented banknote.

“Krasnenkaya”, “Katenka”, “Petenka” - paper money has long been called these affectionate names in Russia. This is due to both their history and appearance. Although the appearance of Russian banknotes has changed throughout history, certain traditions were followed in their development. You can study history by how banknotes have transformed.

"Tit" in hands

The enchanted wanderer Leskova met a young gypsy beauty in a tavern... “You can’t even describe her as a woman, but just like a bright snake, moving on her tail and bending her whole body, and her black eyes burn with fire... And in her hands she is holding a large tray, on which there are many glasses of champagne wine at the edges, and in the middle there is a terrible pile of money. Only there is no silver, or even gold and banknotes, and blue tits, and gray ducks, and red braids - only white swans are missing.”

Nikolai Semenovich wrote his story in 1872-1873. By that time, the free exchange of paper money for gold and silver was prohibited (the result of the Crimean War of 1853-1856, which caused a significant deficit in the imperial treasury). But the colors assigned to banknotes of different denominations during the Kankrin reform remained unchanged. This color coding of banknotes was destined to pass through the centuries, outlive the Romanov dynasty and migrate to a completely different state with a different system of government.

So, Count Egor Frantsevich Kankrin (or rather, Georg Ludwig Kankrin, born in the town of Hanau, in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel) in 1823 was called to the post of Minister of Finance of His Imperial Majesty Alexander I. He came to the place of Count Guryev, the same Guryev porridge is named after it. According to contemporaries, he “...had a slow mind,” and he was close to the court “through his friendship with Count Skavronsky.” However, it was under him that Russian banknotes were already improved in 1818. It was decided to complicate the design and provide banknotes of each denomination with their own watermark after the sad experience of the Patriotic War of 1812. Then Napoleon flooded the country with counterfeit banknotes, which French foragers used to pay Russian peasants for provisions. Then bills came out in denominations of 25 and 50 rubles, and the next - in denominations of 5, 10, 100 and 200 rubles.

Banknotes of different denominations had their own colors: one-ruble bills were yellow, three-ruble bills were green, five-ruble bills were blue (the same “tits” on the gypsy’s tray), and ten-ruble bills were red, which is why they were called “chervonets”. The hundred-ruble bills were white.

In everyday life, banknotes were often named by color, and affectionately: “little blue”, “red”... “Listen, Ivan Ivanovich, I was going to visit a place here, but, bad luck, I forgot my wallet at home, could you lend me a loan before tomorrow little red one?” asks Vishnepokromov in the second (burned) volume of Dead Souls. It should be noted that when the ten-ruble note changed color in 1830, it still continued to be called “red.”

It was also customary to call a five-ruble piece a “tit”, just as it was customary to call a ten piece a “chervonets”. Now let’s imagine what additional meaning was revealed in the saying “Better is a bird in the hand than a pie in the sky,” especially if we put the word “tit” in quotation marks.

16 years after his appointment, already under the next sovereign - Nicholas I - Kankrin carried out a monetary reform. In 1840, a manifesto “On the structure of the monetary system” was published, according to which all transactions were to be calculated exclusively in silver. From December 20, 1839 to June 18, 1841, deposit notes were issued in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 rubles. Tickets were freely exchanged into silver coins. By that time, the chervonets had been returned to their red color. In any case, the piece of paper that the cook received from the master in Goncharov’s Ordinary History was indeed red: “This is how His Excellency deigns to reward you every day... such a kind master. I went to see him the other day with some kind of notebook from a young lady - I presented him with a red one” (first published in 1847).

These banknotes were protected very well: multi-color printing with several ink impressions, complex background grids, fancy guilloche rosettes, etc. A new design and more advanced protective equipment were required only after half a century.

Baba Katya

The 1860s were marked by an economic crisis, one of the reasons for which was Russia's defeat in the Crimean War. Alexander II was on the throne at that time, and the Ministry of Finance was headed by Mikhail Khristoforovich Reitern. The government is carrying out a number of important reforms: abandoning industrial protectionism, liberalizing foreign trade, and abolishing serfdom.

The principles of monetary policy established by Kankrin are being eroded: starting in 1859, credit money was introduced into circulation, which did not have a fixed exchange rate to gold. They were issued until the 1870s to cover budget deficits. This caused the depreciation of money and a reduction in the circulation of metallic money. The country also actively borrowed from abroad.

The new economic reality required new money. They were released in 1866. Portraits have already appeared on these banknotes. Their presence significantly complicated the production technology, and therefore reduced the likelihood of counterfeiting. The blue five-ruble note depicted Dmitry Donskoy, the “red” one depicted the first autocrat of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, and the “little white” hundred was decorated with a portrait of Catherine the Second. Since then, the hundred-ruble coin has received new nicknames: merchants and factory owners affectionately called it “Katenka,” and security thieves who raked hundreds of dollars from safes called it “granny.” This is where the word “grandmother” entered the language in relation to money. Ordinary people, officials, commoners, as a rule, have not held a hundred-ruble bill in their hands in their entire lives. By the way, on the back the “katenka” was no longer white, but multi-colored, rainbow-colored.

It is not very clear how white the “swans” that Leskov’s wanderer threw at the feet of the dancing gypsy actually were. By the way, if these were banknotes of a new type, then it turns out that the girl trampled with her feet the images of august persons, albeit not currently reigning ones.

A 50-ruble banknote was also issued, which for some reason was called a “corner”, on which Peter the Great was depicted. True, it came out only in 1866 and then was gradually withdrawn from circulation.

At the end of the reign of Alexander III, in 1890, the “Oryol seal” was invented, which ensured an absolutely exact match of design elements printed with inks of different colors. Then new credit notes were issued in denominations of 25, 10 and 5 rubles using new technology. And in 1898, a new, next series of Russian money appeared.

Now the portraits of monarchs have moved from the back to the front. The fifty-ruble bill appeared again, only Nicholas I was now depicted on it. “Katenka” turned pink, and the reverse side of the bill became completely red and yellow with a gray border. However, in everyday life they still continued to call her “little white.”

In addition, a new banknote was issued - in denomination of 500 rubles with a portrait of Peter the Great. It was extremely rarely seen in circulation. It seems that by analogy with Catherine, this ticket was called “petenka”, and in criminal circles - “grandfather”.

The Grandfather had 46 levels of security, remaining for a long time the most secure banknote in the world. When the counterfeiters managed to steal the paper for the five-hundred-ruble notes in the State Paper Procurement Expedition, they bypassed only 43 degrees of security.

The last modification of money took place in 1905. Then the “katerinkas” (they were also called that) again became white with a yellowish tint. Soon a revolution took place in the country, which overthrew the monarchy. With this turn of events, the emergence of new money was inevitable.

Swastika money

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, mysticism and occultism of all kinds became popular throughout Europe (including Russia). Helena Blavatsky founded her Theosophical Society, the Tibetan doctor Pyotr Badmaev gained popularity, and the family of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II fell under the influence of Grigory Rasputin. Along with occult practices came the symbolism associated with them.

After the overthrow of the monarchy in February 1917, power passed to the Provisional Government, which immediately allowed the State Bank to increase the issue to 8.5 billion rubles, and by the beginning of October the issue had already reached 16.5 billion rubles. They printed old, royal money, as a result of which it sharply depreciated. At the same time, the Provisional Government outlined a program for issuing its own money. However, of the paper banknotes planned for introduction into circulation, only state credit notes (“dumkas”) with denominations of 250 and 1000 rubles and “kerenkas” with denominations of 20 and 40 rubles managed to enter into circulation.

The 250 ruble banknote depicted a double-headed eagle, devoid of royal attributes - a crown, scepter and orb, and an image of a swastika was visible through it. There was also a swastika on the thousandth bill. What explains this? This symbol was used quite widely at that time. It could be found on the banknotes of other countries, such as the newly independent Finland and Estonia.

A year later, the occult political society Thule (Thule-Gesellschaft) appeared in Munich, whose symbol also became the swastika. Later, this group for the study of German antiquities would be reborn into the National Socialist German Workers' Party, which attached very sad associations to this Eastern sign.

With the Bolsheviks coming to power and the outbreak of the Civil War, paper money became very diverse. In addition to the money issued by the Russian Soviet Republic, banknotes were issued in the Bukhara and Khorezm Soviet Republics, the Turkestan Territory, and the Far Eastern Republic. The White Guard governments issued their own money and exchange notes: the administrations of Kolchak, Denikin, Rodzianko, the Don Army, etc.

In the end, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, formed in 1922 by uniting the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR and the Transcaucasian SFSR into one state, had a monopoly on the issue of money. Later, other republics became part of the communist state in one way or another.

Reincarnation of the chervonets

“If there were no zodiac, there would be no sun; if there were no Sovsign, there would be no chervonets,” they often said on city streets in the 1920s.

Sovznak, or payment notes, issued in 1919 by the People's Commissariat of Finance of the RSFSR, were not officially called money, since in a communist society there should be no money, according to the theory of Karl Marx. But theory is theory, but in practice it was real paper money. Only their denomination was such that the tsarist regime could not even dream of: five hundred, one thousand, five thousand, ten thousand rubles. The coat of arms of the RSFSR appeared on banknotes for the first time. In 1921, a new issue was carried out, in which the design of banknotes was simplified, and the largest banknote was one hundred thousand rubles.

In “Republic of SHKID,” where the action takes place exactly in the 1920s, Sashka and Lenka at the Alexander flea market “sold Sashka’s English boots to the first merchant they came across for ten lemons.” Then they sell the gold tooth to a jeweler for five million and take the proceeds to the head of the school, Vikniksora, as compensation for the broken glass.

Soviet signs depreciated so quickly that the denomination had to be carried out for two years in a row - in 1922 and immediately after in 1923. Moreover, the first time they removed four zeros, and the second time - as many as six! In parallel, since 1922, another monetary unit was in operation in the USSR - the “chervonets”, which was called exactly that. Since under the new proletarian government everything should be new, at first they decided to abandon the old regime ruble, coming up with a new name. Narkomfin employees proposed calling the Soviet currency “federal”, and “hryvnia”, and “rubles”... But since hryvnia was the name given to the money issued by the Petliurists in Ukraine, and “rubles” was associated with the silver ruble, they settled on “chervonets”. And ideologically the name was suitable: the Reds in power should have red money. True, only the three-chervonets bill was red. Banknotes of other denominations were gray with a portrait of Lenin. They indicated that one chervonets contains 1 spool and 78.24 shares of pure gold. There were also metal chervonets, which, however, became unnecessary with the winding down of the NEP and the beginning of industrialization.

The money of 1938 is already called rubles again. They depict a worker, a soldier, a pilot.

After the Great Patriotic War, in 1945, the USSR underwent a monetary reform. Bread cards were canceled and a cash exchange was announced: for ten old rubles they gave one new one. The banknotes depicted the coat of arms of the USSR, the denomination was written in 16 languages ​​of the union republics (then there was still the Karelo-Finnish SSR). The banknote was positioned vertically.

The next monetary reform and design change occurred under Khrushchev, in 1961, when Gagarin flew into space. It was then that the design of Soviet banknotes returned to the traditional color scheme of Russian money. One ruble was yellow-olive, three ruble was green, five was blue, and ten was red. There was also a purple twenty-five ruble note. And only there were no “white swans”.

This design generally remained until 1991, when the Soviet Union disappeared. However, at the end of the USSR, banknotes with Lenin’s profile appeared in denominations of 100, 200, 500 and 1000 rubles. In the new Russia, there was no longer any point in following the “primary colors” of Russian money, since the banknote denominations were very far from those that were accepted in the era of the monarchy.

The first paper money in Russia is considered to be banknotes issued in 1769 (during the reign of Catherine II). The reasons for their appearance are quite simple: paying large sums in copper coins became very difficult. For example, if you collect a hundred-ruble sum with copper coins with a face value of five kopecks, then the weight of this pile would be more than six pounds. The quality of the first banknotes was low. This paper looked less like a banknote and more like a moneylender's receipt.

Paper money 1769-1843

The first Russian banknote

Banknotes quickly flooded the market. There was even an oversupply of them, which led to a decrease in their market value (68.5 copper kopecks per paper ruble at the end of the reign of Catherine the Second). There have always been plenty of skillful hands in Rus'. Therefore, counterfeiting of banknotes began immediately after their appearance, as a result of which trust in paper money sharply decreased. Nevertheless, the experiment to introduce paper banknotes into monetary circulation was considered successful. And they protected themselves from counterfeits by issuing new banknotes in 1786. Large denominations of 100, 50 and 25 rubles were circulated in a narrow circle of very wealthy people. But the fives and tens went to the masses, where they were immediately given the nicknames “little blue” and “little red.” The nicknames turned out to be stable and lasted for centuries (the blue main color of the five-ruble note and the red color of the ten-ruble note were even on USSR banknotes from 1961 to 1991).

"Blue" and "red" model 1786

The appearance of fakes, however, did not stop and continued at all levels of the population. They were also painted in villages. They were also printed by court favorites in the secret rooms of palaces and estates. Napoleon also made a significant contribution to this matter, bringing with him a mass of counterfeit banknotes. An interesting fact is that Napoleon printed signatures on banknotes, whereas on the originals they were written by hand. Experts say that Napoleonic fakes are much more common than official banknotes. During the period from 1813 to 1817, counterfeits worth an appalling amount of 5.6 million rubles were discovered. The result was a crushing decline in the value of paper money. A ruble on paper was exchanged for no more than twenty kopecks in coins.

"Sinenkaya" and "red" model 1819

At the beginning of 1818, the construction of the Expedition for the procurement of state papers, founded by Augustin Augustinovich Betancourt, was completed. By the fall, a batch of twenty-five ruble bills had already been printed. Alexander the First appointed Prince A.N. as manager. Khovansky, who took the position of manager of the Assignation Bank. Under Khovansky, the quality of the issued paper money increased significantly. It is enough to see how the paper money of 1819 and 1840 differs (the beginning and end of the prince’s thirty-two-year reign due to the work of the Expedition).

Credit notes from 1840

After the reform of silver monometallism in 1843, new credit notes appeared. The paper ruble is equal to the silver ruble with the obligatory exchange of credit cards for precious metal or other coins. The quality of the issued money was noticeably superior to banknotes, but the engraving work was still not up to par. Therefore, fakes have reappeared in circulation. What are the prices for government notes from 1769-1843? Very high, since not many copies of that time have survived.

Paper money 1843-1896

Credit notes from the period 1843-1865

To improve the quality of paper money and protect against counterfeiting, F.F. Vinberg went on a business trip to Western Europe to learn from the experience of advanced production of that era. Upon his return, he is appointed manager of the Expedition. A new item was a pair of paper-making machines. Art, guilloche, galvanoplastic and photographic workshops were established on the territory of the Expedition. Then beautiful patterns of great complexity appeared in the design, which made counterfeiting noticeably more difficult.

Credit notes from the period 1863-1864

The result of the experience gained and the modernization carried out was the issuance of a new type of credit notes in 1866 and 1867. The revolution was the presence of metallographic (metalographic) printing, watermarks using halftones, and guilloche rosettes. Since 1861, the Expedition became a commercial enterprise with the right to carry out private orders. The proceeds were used to extensively re-equip production areas.

Credit notes of the 1866 model

In 1881, the Expedition was connected to electrical networks. A landmark event was the invention of printing a multicolor design from one cliche (“Oryol Print”). The method was developed by Ivan Ivanovich Orlov. He ended up on the Expedition almost by accident. It was planned to issue banknotes on silk fabric. Orlov was invited to this project from the weaving factory, where he worked as a foreman. Ivan Ivanovich designed the printing press himself. But the merit of mechanic I. Struzhkov is also undoubted, thanks to whom the machine became rotary. Master printer A. Shcherbakov also made an important addition, providing the opportunity to add a typographic design with another paint to the multi-color Oryol design during the same run. Multicolor impressions of the Oryol seal produced banknotes that could not be counterfeited in the usual printing way. The first in a series of bonds printed using the new technology were credit cards in denominations of 25 rubles (1892) and 10 rubles (1894). What are the market prices of government notes from 1843-1895? They are quite tall. The specific price varies depending on many parameters, one of which is the demand for the bond for those who are willing to pay for it.

State credit card 1894

Paper money 1898-1917

The period of stable monetary circulation began with the era of gold monometallism in 1897, when, on the initiative of the Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte carried out a monetary reform, equating the ruble exchange rate to gold (full gold backing of paper money). Credit notes gained usefulness and respect from all segments of the population, taking a leading role in money circulation, while silver and copper in the form of small change became only an auxiliary means. How much is the paper money of Tsarist Russia from this period worth? The price depends on the safety of the bill, on its occurrence and on the signature. For example, on a ruble dated 1898, there may be four autograph options: Pleske, Timashev, Konshin or Shipov (and the price of a ticket with Konshin’s signature may exceed the cost of exactly the same ruble signed by Shipov by five times). Why did the signatures change? Because (unlike coins) the date on banknotes did not change. And this rule gradually became a printing tradition.

Fragment of the graphic field of a credit note from 1898

Three-ruble cars were modified in 1905. For most denominations the design changed in 1909. Large denominations changed their appearance later than others (1910 for the hundred-ruble note and 1912 for the cupira worth five hundred rubles). The period of prosperity ended with Russia's entry into the First World War. Numerous issues have shaken confidence in the paper. The final point was set by the law of June 27, 1914, abolishing the mandatory exchange of paper money for gold. Gold coins instantly disappeared from circulation. Following the gold, silver was also hidden in small capsules. And paper money was printed and printed, even coming out in the form of postage stamps.

State credit card 1909

The history of printing paper money in Tsarist Russia, oddly enough, was ended not by Emperor Nicholas II, who abdicated the throne, but by the Provisional Government, which continued to issue money indistinguishable from the previous design until it slipped to tiny paper squares - treasury notes of twenty and forty rubles. By October 1917, the situation with paper money in Russia was deplorable. And the monetary policy itself left much to be desired, because inflation equated the ruble to six or seven kopecks in pre-war purchasing power.

Fragment of the graphic field of a 1912 credit note

A small article cannot fully tell about the rise and fall of the production of paper money in Tsarist Russia. As a good guide on this topic, we recommend the book “Paper Money of Russia” (authors A.E. Michaelis and L.A. Kharlamov), published for the 175th anniversary of Goznak, from which the illustrations presented here are borrowed.

Most numismatists want to purchase a very specific 10 ruble banknote issued in 1909 for their collection. What makes it unique? Copies of this banknote were certified by the signature of three different managers of the State Bank of Russia, and it is this factor that is now decisive in establishing the value of the coin. How much can you get for a historical rarity that will be 110 years old in two years?

Historical reference

Banknotes in denomination of 10 rubles of 1909 appeared in circulation on November 1. They did not imply a complete replacement of previous paper banknotes and therefore circulated as legal tender along with banknotes of 1898.

They left circulation only on September 8, 1922, after the final establishment of Soviet power (at the end of the Civil War) and the transition to a new banknote design. Consequently, the 10-ruble banknote issued in 1909 witnessed the tsarist power, the rule of the Provisional Government and the management of the Soviets of People's Deputies.

10 rubles of 1909 have several characteristic features, including:

1. Large size – 105 mm long and 175 mm wide;
2. The banknotes are printed on thin paper of a grayish tint;
3. Banknotes that circulated in the Russian economy during the years of tsarist rule, during the reign of the Provisional Government and the Soviets of People's Deputies, were certified by the signatures of various managers of the Bank of Russia;
4. The design on the banknote has a vertical orientation (as opposed to the traditional horizontal);
5. The banknote is not monochromatic - it is decorated with a combination of green, red and purple shades;
6. The 10-ruble bill of 1909 is a very meaningful banknote, on the reverse side of which you can even read the rules for the circulation of paper money in Russia.

Basic characteristics of the banknote

1909 were issued between 1909 and 1917. There were no re-issues for the remainder of their circulation. What external characteristics does a banknote have?

On its front side there is the coat of arms of the Russian Empire in an elegant frame, on the sides of which there are neat tens. Under the coat of arms is the inscription: “State credit card”, the denomination and a message that banknotes in any amount are exchanged by the State Bank for coins (indicating the proportion of exchange - 1 ruble = 17,424 shares of gold). This is followed by the signatures of the manager, cashier, number and series of the banknote, as well as the year of issue.

On the reverse side you can see a diamond-shaped cartouche, enclosed in two frames and decorated with floral patterns. It contains three rules for the circulation of paper rubles in the Russian Empire:

• The possibility of exchanging banknotes for gold coins, which is provided by the state;
• Equivalence of gold and paper money throughout the country;
• Punishment of counterfeiters with hard labor and confiscation of property.

The overall appearance of the banknote is very luxurious: it is decorated with numerous frames, elegant fonts, and floral patterns. It resembles pages from books from the period of Tsarist Russia.

As for the protection of 10 rubles of 1909, this bill had a watermark in the form of small numbers indicating the denomination, which were placed directly diagonally.

Varieties of 10 rubles 1909 and their prices

Experienced numismatists distinguish as many as six varieties of the 1909 banknote with a denomination of 10 rubles, namely:

1. (A) with the signature of Timashev S., issued in 1909;
2. (B) with the signature of Konshin A., which was issued from 1910 to 1914;
3. (B) with the signature of Shipov I., series DM-KTs (1914-1916);
4. (D) with the signature of Shipov I., KCh-KG series (beginning of 1917);
5. (D) with the signature of Shipov I., PD-AM series (after the revolution);
6. (E) with the signature “Sample”.

At numismatic auctions, bills of varying quality from good to ideal are circulated, which is why you can sell 10-ruble banknotes of the above varieties in the following price range:

• 2000-3500 rubles – for option “A” (Timashev S.);
• 700-1100 rubles – for option “B” (Konshin A.);
• 200-600 rubles – for options “B”, “G” and “D” (Shipov I.);
• 500-1500 rubles – for option “E” (sample).

Thus, a 10 ruble banknote, which has passed through three historical periods - Tsarist Russia, the power of the Provisional Government and the administration of the Soviets during the Civil War, can bring its owner considerable profit. Moreover, the older the banknote, the higher its price.

Already in the middle of the 18th century, there was a need to reform the cash payment system in Tsarist Russia. The main unit of account at that time were silver and copper coins, the value of which was the universal equivalent in the country. However, not as much of the necessary metals were mined as required, and the cost of production was very high. Back in 1762, Peter III made an attempt to create a state bank that would issue paper money - banknotes up to 1000 rubles, but his project was not implemented.

They returned to the idea of ​​issuing paper money again in 1769, when the Assignation Bank was established. Then they were printed banknotes in denominations of 25, 50, 75 and 100 rubles. Their distinctive feature was the presence of a figured ornamental frame, which contained not only the designation of the denomination and place of exchange of money in tsarist Russia, but also embossed symbols, which served as protection against counterfeiting. In addition, there were additional watermarks along the edges, and coats of arms in the corners.

In 1818, the banknotes were replaced - the previous paper money, which was in circulation on the territory of Tsarist Russia, was too easily counterfeited. Now they were issued on special, more secure material by the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers, located in St. Petersburg. On the front side of the banknotes there was now a Masonic coat of arms eagle with drooping wings. In addition, the banknotes were signed personally by the cashier who issued them, and also had a facsimile signature of the manager - Prince Khovansky, different for each denomination. On the reverse side the price of the bill was indicated in words. Banknotes were made from special cast paper, which was blue for 5 rubles, pink for 10, and white for higher rubles. In addition, during the reform, a banknote with a face value of 200 rubles was introduced.

The catalogs of paper banknotes of Tsarist Russia provide approximate prices for banknotes and the cost of banknotes from the period 1769 - 1817. As a rule, it exceeds one hundred thousand rubles; it is not uncommon for sales when the auction price exceeds a million. Price for banknotes 1818 – 1843 Naturally, somewhat lower, but for less than 50 thousand it is practically impossible to purchase them, even in not the best, satisfactory condition.

The next monetary reform in Tsarist Russia occurred in 1843, when first credit cards, equating the value indicated on them to a silver coin. On the front side was the already familiar coat of arms of the Russian Empire, as well as an indication of the denomination and signature of the persons responsible for the issue, including the director of the state bank. In addition, numbers were also printed on this part of the banknote, and each denomination had its own font. The denomination of the banknote was also duplicated in text and digital form, and on the reverse side there was an excerpt from the tsar’s manifesto on the circulation of banknotes. To protect paper money from counterfeiting, this information was typed in three different fonts in a strictly defined sequence.

In connection with the development of printing and the improvement of printing quality, since 1866 it was decided to issue banknotes of a higher level of security. They were created by intaglio printing using special inks and rosettes. The front side was now decorated with imperial regalia and facsimile signatures of the responsible persons, and portraits of famous rulers of Tsarist Russia were applied to the reverse side. Moreover, a distinctive feature banknotes in circulation since 1866, there was the presence of watermarks with halftones.

Prices indicated in catalogs of Russian banknotes, even for the most common credit notes of the mid-19th century, start from 10 - 15 thousand. Very few banknotes from this period have survived, since all of them were exchanged without any restrictions for quite a long time. More detailed information on the cost of paper money from this period can be found in specialized catalogs on bonistics.

In 1887, new paper money appeared, made using two-color printing, the decoration of which was made in the “Russian-Byzantine” decorative style. These banknotes were also distinguished by the presence of silk threads pressed into them, which increased the degree of protection. The 1 and 3 ruble banknotes of this issue were formally valid until 1922; they remained in circulation until the first monetary reforms of the Soviet regime - however, they were gradually withdrawn as new banknotes were printed.

Since 1892, paper money in Tsarist Russia became multi-colored - when creating them, iridescent, iridescent colors, the so-called “Oryol print” were used. Implying the use of a single cliche to form a multi-color image. In the style of banknotes from 1892 to 1895. images of a woman were used, symbolizing the great Russia wearing the Monomakh hat.

During the Witte reform Since 1898, the need to issue new paper money has been formed. Their main difference from old banknotes was the indication that credit notes could be exchanged for gold. In addition, the 50 ruble banknote was fundamentally updated, it began to be issued with a portrait of Emperor Nicholas 1, and a new 500 ruble credit card with a portrait of Peter 1 appeared.

The last banknotes of Tsarist Russia were issued in 1905-1913. They contained metallographic printing of up to 5 colors on one side of the paper, and also featured a completely new style, which involved the use of complex ornaments for banknotes of 3, 5 and 10 rubles. 25 rubles became portrait, with the image of Alexander 3. During printing, banknotes in denominations of 100 and 500 rubles underwent some updating.

Approximate prices for banknotes of Tsarist Russia of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are indicated in the articles on this site dedicated to these banknotes.