20 000 Roubles National Bank of Belarus

Belarus redenominated in 2000, lopping two zeros off the Soviet-era rouble, but inflation continued eating through the new currency at a pace that made high denominations like this one a routine transaction note within a decade. By 2011, 20,000 roubles was roughly equivalent to two US dollars — functional money, not a collector's curiosity at issue.

Goznak in Moscow printing Belarusian currency is an arrangement that has attracted periodic political commentary given the two countries' complicated relationship, though the contract has continued uninterrupted through multiple diplomatic tensions. A full redenomination in 2016 — removing four zeros this time — rendered the entire P#35 series obsolete.