100 Roubles

The Assignation Bank's 100 Rouble notes occupied an awkward position in Russian commerce almost from the moment they appeared. Catherine II established the bank in 1769 precisely to fund military expenditure without draining the silver reserve, and the assignats immediately traded at a discount to metal coin — a gap that widened steadily through the Napoleonic period. By 1810, one silver rouble commanded roughly four assignat roubles on the open market.

The series ran across an exceptionally long lifespan, which created chronic counterfeiting problems. A particularly damaging wave of forgeries circulated during the 1812 French occupation of Moscow, some reportedly produced on Napoleon's orders to destabilize the Russian economy.