100 Roubles

The 1923 RSFSR rouble series emerged from one of the most chaotic monetary environments of the twentieth century. Soviet Russia was simultaneously running two currencies — the old sovznak issues, depreciating at catastrophic speed, and the newly introduced chervonets, backed by gold and reserved for wholesale trade. These 1923 Narkomfin notes occupied an awkward middle ground: still sovznaks, still inflating, issued as the government quietly prepared to abandon the entire denomination structure within months.

The 1924 monetary reform rendered them worthless at conversion rates so unfavorable they amounted to confiscation for anyone holding large quantities. Circulated examples are common; unissued remainders turn up with some regularity from old Soviet-era holdings.