10 Roubles Belarusian Ballet

Belarus launched an ambitious bullion and collector coin program in the early 2000s, partly to generate hard currency and partly to project cultural identity through issues celebrating national institutions. The Belarusian State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Opera and Ballet, founded in Minsk in 1933, became a recurring subject in this series. Small-denomination gold issues of this format were struck for the collector market rather than circulation — virtually none entered everyday use.