Bank.notes

Collection Soviet Union #491

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5 Soviet Ruble

Soviet Union 1946_1989 F P-P-224 Needs review ✦ AI 90%
Front · IMG_7177.HEIC cropped
Back · IMG_7178.HEIC cropped
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Identity

Where & when

Country Soviet Union
Currency Soviet Ruble
Denomination 5
Series name State Treasury Notes Series 1961
Series year 1961
Issue year
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
Reverse subject State Emblem of the Soviet Union
Watermark Stars pattern
Color palette #d4af37,#8b4513,#f5deb3
Themes statesman,industry
Language / script Cyrillic, Latin, Georgian, Armenian

Front: State Treasury Note of 5 rubles issued by the State Bank of the USSR. The note features the text 'ПЯТЬ РУБЛЕЙ' (Five Rubles) prominently at center, with denomination numerals '5' in ornate frames on both sides. The front carries multilingual inscriptions representing the fifteen Soviet republics, including Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Georgian, Armenian, Azeri, Uzbek, Kazakh, Tajik, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, and Moldovan. This reflects the Soviet policy of representing all constituent republics on state currency. The elaborate guilloche patterns and ornamental design are characteristic of Soviet currency security printing.

Back: State Emblem of the Soviet Union (hammer and sickle within a wreath of wheat, topped with a red star) prominently displayed at left. The text 'ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ КАЗНАЧЕЙСКИЙ БИЛЕТ' (State Treasury Note) appears at top, with 'ОДИН РУБЛЬ' (One Ruble) at center - this appears to be a design template error as the front clearly shows 5 rubles. The back includes legal tender text stating these notes are accepted throughout the USSR and all territories. The brown-toned color scheme and geometric patterns are typical of Soviet currency design from this era.

Production

How it was made

Issuer State Bank of the USSR
Issuer (native) Государственный Казначейский Билет
Printer Goznak
Engraver
Material paper
Dimensions (mm) 114x57

Security features: guilloche_patterns,microprint

Geography

Where in the world

Geography unknown for Soviet Union.

The story

Background & history

The 1961 Soviet ruble reform introduced a new currency series following Khrushchev's monetary reform, which exchanged old rubles at a 10:1 ratio. This 5-ruble note belongs to the longest-running series of Soviet paper currency, remaining in circulation for three decades until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. The series was designed to present a unified Soviet identity through multilingual text representing all fifteen republics. Serial number format with Cyrillic prefix letters (ДД in this case) followed by seven digits was standard for this series. These notes were printed by Goznak (the Soviet state security printer) and featured advanced anti-counterfeiting measures for their time. The 1961 series remained legal tender through multiple political changes until replaced by Russian Federation currency. No documented serial-year encoding exists for this series; dating requires reference to documented production records or signature analysis.

Catalogue

Collector references

Pick # P-224
Krause ID
Rarity tier common
Series range 1961-1991
Provenance

How it came to me

Acquired date
Acquired from
Acquired price
Currency
Condition
Grade F
Serial number ДД 4714507
Serial prefix ДД

Circulated note with visible wear, creasing, and discoloration at edges. Paper intact but showing age-related toning.

Valuation

What it's worth now

$1–$5
Type default range $1–$5
Valuation history (1)
datelowhighcurrencysourcenote
2026-05-10 07:08:01 1.0 5.0 USD ai from claude-sonnet-4-5
Technical

History & extractions

AI extractions (1)
anthropic · claude-sonnet-4-5 2026-05-10 07:08:01
status: ok · step 1 · $0.0425 · 7395↓ + 1351↑ tokens
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