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5 Roubles
| Issuer | Vneshtorgbank (Bank for Foreign Trade of the USSR) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1979 |
| Type | Exchange certificates |
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| Obverse description | Rose-tinted note with the numeral '5' and 'РУБЛЕЙ' in a guilloche panel at right. Central text in Cyrillic states the bearer is to be paid five roubles by Vneshtorgbank USSR, with the issuing authority 'БАНК ДЛЯ ВНЕШНЕЙ ТОРГОВЛИ СССР' in bold. Serial number prefixed 'Г №' appears at lower left alongside two manuscript signatures; 'ВТБ' monogram and 'Серия Д' at lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Protection description | Intricate machine-engraved guilloche patterns covering both faces, providing anti-counterfeiting protection through complex lathe-work rosette and border designs. |
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| Comments |
Vneshtorgbank certificates were not conventional currency — they formed part of a closed parallel system designed to control hard-currency access within the Soviet Union. Foreigners, diplomats, and Soviet citizens with approved foreign earnings used these certificates at Beryozka shops, where imported and otherwise unavailable goods could be purchased. Ordinary Soviet citizens holding standard rubles had no legal access to that network.
The 1979 series replaced an earlier certificate format that carried a distinctive yellow stripe, which had become too easily forged or traded on the black market. Removing the stripe was a deliberate administrative response to that problem, and the stripped-down guilloche underprint of this issue reflects the same concern for discouraging informal exchange.