5 Soviet Ruble #456

Front

State Treasury Note of the USSR, 5 Rubles. The front features the denomination '5' (ПЯТЬ РУБЛЕЙ) in the center with multilingual denomination text in the languages of the Soviet republics including Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Uzbek, Kazakh, Georgian, Azerbaijani, Lithuanian, Moldavian, Latvian, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Armenian, Turkmen, and Estonian. The text states that State Treasury Notes are secured by gold, precious metals and other assets of the state and are legal tender throughout the USSR. Serial number ЯН 1964516 visible at bottom.

Back

Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin, the most iconic of the Kremlin towers, built in 1491 by Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari and topped with its distinctive ruby star. The tower houses the famous Kremlin chimes and serves as the main ceremonial entrance to Red Square. The State Coat of Arms of the USSR (hammer and sickle within wreath, topped by star) appears at upper left. The date '1961' appears on the back, marking the denomination reform that removed one zero from the currency.

History

This note belongs to the 1961 Soviet currency reform series, which replaced the 1947 series at a rate of 10:1 (10 old rubles = 1 new ruble) as part of Khrushchev's economic policies. The reform aimed to simplify accounting and combat inflation. The 1961 series was the last complete Soviet ruble series and remained in circulation until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. These notes featured the State Coat of Arms and iconic Soviet architectural landmarks. The multilingual text on the front represents the fifteen Soviet republics. Printed by Goznak (Государственный знак - State Sign), the Soviet state security printing works. This series is well-documented and common in the numismatic market.