1000 Manat

Azerbaijan's first post-Soviet currency series was printed under genuinely chaotic conditions — the country had declared independence in 1991 but was simultaneously fighting a war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, and the treasury was in no position to negotiate lengthy printing contracts. The 1993 high-denomination notes were introduced as inflation, imported largely from the collapsing ruble zone, began eroding the lower values almost immediately after issue.

The manat itself replaced the Soviet ruble at a rate of 10 rubles to 1 manat, but that ratio quickly became theoretical fiction. By the mid-1990s, notes of this denomination were themselves insufficient for routine transactions, and a redenomination eventually followed in 2006 at 5,000 old manat to 1 new manat.