#487 Soviet Union 10

Identity

Where & when

Country Soviet Union

Currency Soviet Ruble

Denomination 10

Series name Fourth Series

Series year 1961

Issue year 1961

Era 1946_1989

Legal status demonetized

Predecessor currency Soviet Ruble (1947 series)

Successor currency Russian Ruble

Subjects & design

What's on the note

Front portrait Vladimir Lenin

Reverse subject Vladimir Lenin

Watermark Hammer and sickle with five-pointed star

Color palette #c48b7f,#e8d4b0,#8b4513

Themes statesman,communist

Language / script Cyrillic

Front: Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), founder of the Soviet state and Bolshevik leader who led the October Revolution of 1917 and served as the first leader of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union. Lenin's portrait appeared on Soviet banknotes from 1937 onwards and became the iconic symbol of Soviet currency. The front features the State Bank of the USSR emblem and multilingual denomination text in the languages of the Soviet republics.

Back: Vladimir Lenin in profile portrait at right, with the State Emblem of the Soviet Union (hammer and sickle surrounded by wheat stalks) at upper left. The text 'БИЛЕТЪ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО БАНКА СССР' (Ticket of the State Bank of the USSR) and 'ДЕСЯТЬ РУБЛЕЙ' (Ten Rubles) is prominently displayed. The design represents the standardized Soviet currency aesthetic of the 1961 monetary reform.

Production

How it was made

Issuer State Bank of the USSR

Issuer (native) Государственного Банка СССР

Printer Goznak

Engraver —

Material paper

Dimensions (mm) 157x67

Security features: microprint,intaglio,watermark

Geography

Where in the world

Geography unknown for Soviet Union.

The story

Background & history

This note belongs to the Fourth Series of Soviet currency, introduced during Khrushchev's monetary reform of January 1, 1961, which redenominated the ruble at a 10:1 ratio to combat inflation and simplify accounting. The 1961 series remained in circulation until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, making it the longest-running Soviet banknote series. Designed with enhanced security features and standardized sizing, this series reflected the relative economic stability of the Brezhnev era. The multilingual text reflects the multinational character of the USSR, including Russian and translations in languages of constituent republics. The date '1961' is printed on the note. These notes were demonetized following the collapse of the Soviet Union and replaced by Russian Federation currency in 1992–1993.

Catalogue

Collector references

Pick # P-233

Krause ID —

Rarity tier common

Series range 1961–1991

Provenance

How it came to me

Acquired date —

Acquired from —

Acquired price —

Currency —

Condition

Grade VF

Serial number ГЭ 7572816

Serial prefix ГЭ

Circulated note with visible fold marks and handling wear but intact with clear printing and no tears

Valuation

What it's worth now

$2–$8

Type default range $2–$8

Valuation history (1)

date	low	high	currency	source	note
2026-05-10 07:06:32	2.0	8.0	USD	ai	from claude-sonnet-4-5

Technical

History & extractions

AI extractions (1)

anthropic · claude-sonnet-4-5 2026-05-10 07:06:32

status: ok · step 1 · $0.0401 · 7369↓ + 1198↑ tokens

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