25 Roubles Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia - Shirak

The Shirak Regional Bank operated under Soviet authority in northwestern Armenia during the chaotic transitional period following the Red Army's takeover in late November 1920. Regional banks across the Transcaucasus issued their own notes during this window precisely because central supply lines for currency were broken — Moscow's printing infrastructure hadn't yet absorbed the newly Sovietized republics, and local economic activity couldn't simply pause.

The handstamp is the authentication mechanism here, not an afterthought. Without it, the note had no standing. Shirak-issued material is genuinely scarce; the region's output was small, the period brief, and survival rates low.