Catalog
10 Rubļu Soviet of Riga
| Issuer | Council of Riga Workers' Deputies (Rīgas Strādnieku Deputātu Padome) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
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| In circulation to | 1 January 1920 |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark brown and green on a buff ground with a fine wavy-line guilloche underprint. At centre, a large circular vignette carries a red five-pointed star bearing a crossed hammer and scythe, surrounded by a cogwheel and a circular Latvian legend; flanking it are two green guilloche rosettes enclosing the numeral '10' in red. The denomination 'DESMIT RUBĻI' is set in large bold type across the upper centre, with the series prefix 'AK' and the date '1919' in boxed tablets. Below the vignettes appear two facsimile manuscript signatures over the printed titles 'Preekšsedētajs' and 'Sekretārs', followed by the legal-tender clause in two lines at the foot. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | RIGAS STRĀDNEEKU DEPUTATU PADOMES DESMIT RUBĻI 10 MAIŅAS ZĪMJU VILTOTĀJI KA ARĪ VILTOTO ZĪMJU IZ-PLĀTĪTĀJI TIKS SAUKTI PEE ATBILDĪBAS REVOLU-CIONĀRĀ TRIBUNĀLA PREEKŠĀ UN SODĪTI AR AUGSTA-KO SODA MĒRU. MAIŅAS ZĪME (Translation: Counterfeiters of currency notes and distributors of counterfeit notes will be called to answer before the Revolutionary Tribunal and punished with the highest penalty.) |
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| Comments |
The Council of Riga Workers' Deputies controlled the Latvian capital for only five months — from January to May 1919 — before being driven out by combined German Freikorps and Latvian national forces. This note was issued during that brief Soviet occupation, making it one of the shortest-lived local currency issues in Baltic history. The issuing authority ceased to exist almost immediately after these notes entered circulation.
Survival rates are uneven. Notes that remained in Riga were frequently discarded or deliberately destroyed after the Soviets withdrew, as association with the occupation carried real political risk.