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1 Rouble
| Issuer | Bank for Foreign Trade of the USSR (Vneshtorgbank) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1979 |
| Type | Exchange certificates |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Brown-toned cheque with text body at left and a tan guilloche panel at right bearing the numeral '1' and 'РУБЛЬ' in brown letterpress. A serial number prefixed 'В №' appears at lower left alongside two manuscript signatures. Small italic text at foot restricts transfer of the cheque. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Reverse printed entirely in shades of brown and gold with an elaborate lathe-work guilloche underprint. A central rosette medallion of interlocking fine-line spirals is framed by two large opposing oval guilloche loops, all enclosed within a densely ruled border. |
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| Comments |
Vneshtorgbank's "certificate" roubles were never intended for ordinary Soviet citizens. Introduced in the late 1970s, these convertible-currency substitutes were issued to foreigners and Soviet nationals who had received hard currency from abroad — a mechanism allowing the state to capture foreign exchange while giving recipients something spendable inside the USSR at Beryozka hard-currency shops, where goods unavailable to the general public could be purchased.
The 1979 series replaced an earlier system of "D" and "B" coupons that had themselves replaced the original Vneshposyltorg certificates. Each iteration tightened state control over parallel currency flows without formally acknowledging that a two-tier economy existed.