Catalog
1 Silver Rouble
| Issuer | Bank Polski (Bank of Poland) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1853 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Silver Rouble (1 Rubel Srebrem) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Green and pink guilloche underprint covers the entire field. At upper left and upper right, circular medallions with the numeral "1" in pink on a green lathe-work ground. Centre vignette shows the Imperial Russian double-headed eagle within an ornate cartouche bearing the date 1853 on either side. Bilingual text in Cyrillic and Polish appears above and below the central vignette, with serial number cartouches at lower left and right flanking a small numeral "1" ornament, and manuscript signature lines for Prezes Banku and Dyrektor Banku at foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed in green on plain paper, the reverse is dominated by a large central cartouche with elaborate guilloche border enclosing the denomination numeral "1" on each lateral panel. Within the central oval, the note's value is stated in three languages arranged in three stacked groups. Above the cartouche, a bold Cyrillic inscription runs the full width of the note; below it, the Polish denomination is set in widely-spaced capital letters. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Bank Polski was a creature of the post-1815 Congress Kingdom — nominally Polish, functionally an instrument of Russian imperial financial administration. By 1853, the bank was operating under tight St. Petersburg oversight, and this rouble-denominated note is a direct expression of that subordination: the denomination itself declares which monetary system was in charge.
The 1853 series is sparsely documented in surviving records, and genuine circulated examples are genuinely uncommon. The watermark security was shared across several Russian-administered note issues of the period, making authentication dependent on the specific paper stock rather than design alone.