Currently, we have: - Soviet Union (USSR) - Ruble (1924-1958) - Soviet Union (USSR) - Ruble (1961-1991) - Soviet Union (USSR) - Government Bank Issue (1991) - Russia - Ruble (1991-1997) - Russia - Ruble (1998-date)
Imho, here is how they should be organized and why: - Soviet Union (USSR) - Ruble (1923-1924) -- aka the pre-reform ruble. The 1923 issue only remained in circulation for a few months. The 1st monetary reform took place in 1924, which is also the year the first Soviet coinage was introduced. - Soviet Union (USSR) - Ruble (1924-1947) -- This includes issues from 1924, 1925, 1926-32, 1934, and 1937-38. After the end of WWII, there was another reform in 1947, all old notes were withdrawn from circulation. It was believed that there were a lot of German fakes in circulation and that a huge amount of cash had been hoarded by war-time profiteers, so old notes were exchanged 10:1, but only in limited amounts. - Soviet Union (USSR) - Ruble (1947-1961) -- Another monetary reform in 1961. Old notes withdrawn (exchanged at a rate of 10:1). - Soviet Union (USSR) - Ruble (1961-1991) -- The 1961 issue remained in circulation until 1993, even after the break up of the Soviet Union, except for 50 and 100 Ruble notes which were withdrawn in Jan 1991. - Soviet Union (USSR) - Ruble - State Bank Issue (1991) -- Jan 1991, "Pavlov" reform. New notes issued, duplicating all previously existing denominations with a slight change in design, plus introducing new denominations of 200, 500 and 1000 Rubles. These circulated in parallel with the lower denominations of the 1961 issue. - Russia - Ruble - Central Bank of Russia Issue (1991-1993) -- As the Soviet Union broke up at the end of 1991, the State Bank of USSR was disbanded and stopped all financial operations in March of 1992. These notes, even though they were issued by the Central Bank of Russia, still said "Note of the State Bank of USSR" on them. - Russia - Ruble (1993-1997) - On July 17, 1993, Russia ended the circulation of all USSR notes. New notes were introduced, series 1993. A period of high inflation followed, leading to the need for higher denominations to be added with the series of 1995 (all denominations were printed in 1995, but higher ones were not released into circulation until 1997). - Russia - Ruble (1998-date) - Old notes exchanged at the rate of 10000:1, all the way till 2002. New notes dated 1997 were introduced in Jan 1998. 2001, 2004, and 2010 issues only made minor modifications in design. A couple new design were introduced in 2017, plus a few commemorative notes with vertical design.
The 1923 issue notes are in the name of the Russian Soviet Federative Republic - worthy of listing under 'Russia' - as does the U.S.S.R. types dated 1992.
The notes from 1924 to 1958 contain denominations in terms of the Chervonets - 1 Chervonets = 10 U.S.S.R. Roubles.
100 Kopecks = 1 Rouble.
Most people are not aware that the first country in the world to have a decimal currency was Russia - in the early 1700's under Czar Peter I, the Great.
This all needs to be coordinated with the coins, which were not always in lock-step with the paper money. One issue with the coins is that the RSFSR pieces are currently listed under the USSR. As we add the notes from this period to the correct section, we should move those coins over.
Former Numista referee for banknotes from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Saint Helena.
Cita: "ceh2019"This all needs to be coordinated with the coins, which were not always in lock-step with the paper money. One issue with the coins is that the RSFSR pieces are currently listed under the USSR. As we add the notes from this period to the correct section, we should move those coins over.
The 1921 to 1923 coins should be under 'Russia' - along with the gold 1 Chervonets coins.
No, the 1921-23 issue coinage should remain under USSR, even though they have RSFSR on them. This has been brought up many times and the answer is still the same.
The newly formed Soviet government did not have enough precious metals available to produce these coins in sufficient quantity to cover the needs of the entire country, so they were not actually released into circulation when they were struck, but rather several years later, under the authority of the newly-formed USSR, at the same time with the 1924 issue. The two issues circulated in parallel until silver was withdrawn from circulation (in 1932, if I remember correctly).
The gold chervonets was never released into circulation and was used exclusively for international trade.
I must admit, that's the first time I've heard this story but, given that the inflation of the paper currency didn't end until 1924, it seems possible that these silver coins could have been held back until then. However, looking at the mintages, I must admit I'm not convinced about the lack of precious metal. It's true that a relatively small number of 50k and 1R coins were produced, but the 10, 15 and 20k coins were struck in the tens of millions, with the mintages increasing each year. I have read somewhere that pre-revolutionary coins continued to circulate during the inflation independently of the paper money but I'd have to find where I read that before drawing any conclusions about the RSFSR coinage.
All that said, even if we accept that these coins were held back until 1924, I'm not sure that it justifies putting coins struck in the name of the RSFSR before and after the creation of the USSR in with the coins of the USSR, even if they are put into a separate currency.
Former Numista referee for banknotes from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Saint Helena.
In the end, it comes down to who authorized their release into circulation, i.e. the issuer, regardless of when they were manufactured. This is no different than the 1991-92 issue of banknotes, which still said USSR on them, even though they were issued by the Central Bank of the new Russian Federation.
That's certainly one approach but is it the best one for a catalogue, one of whose purposes is to aid identification? I'm not sure there is a perfect solution to this, not least given the overlap of their dates with the creation of the USSR but I now want to know more about their production and release (purely out of curiosity). Do you know where such information can be found?
Former Numista referee for banknotes from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Saint Helena.
I don't have a book source readily available, but here is a quick link to a Russian numismatic site that at least confirms their release date, if not the reason behind it.
