1 Rouble Judaism

Issued as part of Belarus's long-running series on world religions, this copper-nickel rouble was produced at a time when the National Bank was aggressively expanding its collector coin program — releasing dozens of commemorative types annually through the late 2000s and into the 2010s. The Jewish community in Belarus once numbered among the largest in Eastern Europe; by 1939, Jews accounted for roughly 40% of the population of Minsk, a demographic virtually destroyed during the German occupation between 1941 and 1944.