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5 Roubles
| Issuer | Bank for Foreign Trade of the USSR (Vneshtorgbank) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1985-1989 |
| Type | Exchange certificates |
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| Obverse description | Vignette of the cruise ship Shota Rustaveli at lower centre, rendered in fine line engraving against a light guilloche underprint. Denomination numeral '5' appears at upper right within a rosette, with Cyrillic text above and below the ship vignette. Two manuscript signatures appear to the left of the serial number. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Отрезной чек Банка для внешней торговли СССР (выпуск 1985 года) По этому чеку Внешторгбанк СССР выплатит пять рублей БАНК ДЛЯ ВНЕШНЕЙ ТОРГОВЛИ СССР 5 РУБЛЕЙ Настоящий чек принимается в уплату за товары и услуги на советских судах, совершающих международный круиз |
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| Comments |
Vneshtorgbank certificates were never legal tender in the conventional sense — they functioned as hard-currency substitutes within the Soviet internal valuta system, redeemable only at Beriozka ("birch tree") shops where imported goods and otherwise unobtainable domestic products were sold exclusively for foreign exchange. Soviet citizens who received foreign currency through approved channels — maritime workers, technical specialists posted abroad, certain artists — were required to convert those earnings into these certificates rather than hold the underlying currency.
The system was deliberately opaque. Different certificate series carried different purchasing rights, and not all Beriozka outlets accepted all types. By the time this series was issued, the network was already contracting under early Gorbachev-era reforms, and the shops were abolished entirely in 1988.