10 rubles (front) / 50 rubles (back) Transnistrian ruble #528

Front

The Supreme Council building (Verkhovny Sovet) of Transnistria in Tiraspol, the de facto capital. This brutalist-style government building serves as the seat of the legislative assembly of the self-proclaimed Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. The note features text 'ПОДДEЛКА КУПОНОВ ПРИДНЕСТРОВСКОГО БАНКА ПРЕСЛЕДУЕТСЯ ПО ЗАКОНУ' (counterfeiting of Pridnestrovian Bank coupons is prosecuted by law) and 'ДЕСЯТЬ РУБЛЕЙ' (ten rubles).

Back

Monument to Alexander Suvorov (1730–1800), the legendary Russian military commander who won all battles he commanded and is considered one of the greatest military leaders in Russian history. This equestrian statue stands in Tiraspol and honours Suvorov's founding of the fortress that became the city in 1792. The back is denominated as 50 rubles with text 'ПРИДНЕСТРОВЬЕ' (Pridnestrovye) and trilingual issuer identification: 'БАНКЭ ННИСТРЯНЭ' (Moldovan Cyrillic), 'ПРИДНІСТРОВСЬКИЙ БАНК' (Ukrainian), 'ПРИДНИСТРОВСКИЙ БАНК' (Russian).

History

This note represents the chaotic first currency issue of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transnistria), an unrecognized breakaway state that declared independence from Moldova in 1990. The 1993 series was issued during the transitional period following the 1992 armed conflict. The note exhibits a denomination mismatch: the front is denominated as 10 rubles while the back shows 50 rubles, indicating a rushed production during the hyperinflationary early 1990s post-Soviet period when denominations were rapidly changing. The dated '1993' appears on the back. These first-series notes were replaced by more standardized issues in the mid-1990s. Transnistria uses three official languages (Russian, Ukrainian, Moldovan), reflected in the trilingual text on the reverse. The note is not recognized as legal tender outside Transnistria.