Early Soviet Banknotes

This next section deals with currency from the SOVIET OF THE URALS REGION based in Yekaterinburg (later Sverdlovsk). This specimen is a 1 Ruble note dated 1918. The Soviet regiment that issued these notes were the same people responsible for the execution of the Romanov family on July 16, 1918. Following their execution, the area was conquered by Czech and White regiments almost two weeks later on July 24, 1918.

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URALS (SOVIET-REGIONAL)~1 Ruble 1918

This next part deals with notes from the BUKHARA SOVIET PEOPLES REPUBLIC. Bukhara was initially an independent emirate from 1917 until 1920 when it was conquered by the Soviets. The first specimen is a 50 Ruble note date 1338 AH/1920 AD. The second is a 20,000 Ruble note dated 1339 AH/1921 AD, and the third is 10 Ruble note dated 1340 AH/1922 AD. The first two specimens were printed with wooden blocks, whereas the third looks to have been done with a printing press since the quality is more refined. Bukhara remained a republic until 1925 when it was dissolved and reincorporated into the Soviet republics of Uzbekistan and portions of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

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BUKHARA SOVIET PEOPLES REPUBLIC~50 Ruble 1338 AH/1920 AD

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BUKHARA SOVIET PEOPLES REPUBLIC~20,000 Ruble 1339 AH/1921 AD

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BUKHARA SOVIET PEOPLES REPUBLIC~10 Ruble 1340 AH/1922 AD

The next two notes are from the FAR EASTERN REPUBLIC. This short lived republic was established by the Bolshevik government as a buffer state against Japan between 1920 and 1922. The Japanese, who mostly supported the White government, controlled numerous areas along the coastline including the southern half of Sakhalin island, and the port city of Vladivostok. The White regiments last outpost, the 'Provisional Government of Priamar' was defeated by the Soviets in October 1922. The two specimens listed are a 10 Ruble and 1,000 Ruble note both dated 1920.

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FAR EASTERN REPUBLIC~10 Ruble 1920

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FAR EASTERN REPUBLIC~1,000 Ruble 1920

Thanks 'Davest'. I love the detailing on some of these notes, especially the issues from Transcaucasia and Central Asia. You can also see how the civil war had ravaged the economy with hyperinflation notes being issued in Transcaucasia (1 Billion Ruble) and counter-inflation notes in Khwarezm (3 Ruble=30,000 Ruble).

~Daniel

Thanks Dave. No, actually I live in the United States. As for the notes, some I've had for years, while others I've aquired on ebay. I also have a large number of civil war notes from other factions too (provisional, white regiment, etc.). The best reference book in the U.S. is Krause's World Paper Money Vol. 1~Special Issue catalog that shows the notes issued by the different factions. It's not perfect, but again it's one the most readily available reference books on the market. Thanks for you compliment on the colors of images. I use my scanner for the notes and a digital camera for coins. Since notes are flat, it's easy to capture the color and tone easier with the scanner. Since coins vary in shape, depth and relief, the camera is the best choice for capturing the toning and detail, especially if you have a good Macro feature on the camera. On the area of hyperinflation, the worst crisis I've seen recently is in Zimbabwe. For example, I have a note from Zimbabwe dated 2008 in the amount of 20 Trillion Dollars, and that's not even the highest denomination either. I pray it never get's that bad here or anywhere else.

~Daniel

Hi 'DL20K'. I think I know of the notes that you are referring to. These are debenture bonds issued by the White regiment. There are many notes that have been counter-stamped to be used by the opposing factions. For example, the Arkhangelsk note above is a Soviet issue, however some of these have a red counter-stamp on the reverse to be used during the occupation by the White government. I'm not sure if the Omsk issues had these or not. There were some Soviet issues for the Siberian factions but most were regular issues.

~Daniel

Thanks 'Brannenworks'. I have a couple counter-stamped notes from the Russian Civil War, and and I think I have a couple from Germany from the early 1920's. This was a notorious era when the German Reichsmark's value constantly tanked and they needed to keep revaluing the monetary system to keep up with the rampant inflation. Russia counter-stamped paper money because certain territories kept passing back and forth between the different factions. Thus, they stamped old notes to be reused under the current administration of the time.

~Daniel

Thanks for the info once again 'svslav'. That's a new one on me about the 'Greens' in the Russian Civil War. I shouldn't act surprised though. It was such a mess back then that anything could have happened.

~Daniel