Catalog
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| Issuer | Soviet Union |
|---|---|
| Year | 1938 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Brown intaglio on orange guilloche underprint. The Soviet state arms appear within an ornate cartouche at upper left, while a bold Cyrillic script denomination vignette occupies the centre field. An intaglio portrait of a miner wearing a helmet with goggles and holding a drill tool is positioned at the right, with the date 1938 printed at the lower centre in a decorative panel. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | ОДИН КАРБОВАНЕЦЬ ОДИН РУБЛЬ АДЗІН РУБЕЛЬ უკლი ვუსხლ BIR MANAT BIR SOM BIR SOM BIR MANAT JAK SUM BIR SOM |
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| Comments |
The 1938 Soviet rouble series was issued under the People's Commissariat of Finance as part of a broader currency reorganization that consolidated the monetary system following the turbulent reforms of the early Soviet period. These small-denomination notes circulated heavily throughout the late Stalin era, surviving the entire wartime economy and well into the postwar years — the 1938 design remained in circulation without replacement until 1947.
The 1947 currency reform was punitive by design: citizens had ten days to exchange old notes at rates that effectively confiscated savings above 3,000 roubles. Most surviving 1938 roubles were surrendered or destroyed in that exchange window.