50 Kopecks

Vneshtorgbank certificates were not ordinary banknotes — they were a parallel currency, issued specifically to Soviet citizens and foreign nationals who received hard currency earnings but were legally barred from holding actual foreign money. The 50 Kopeck denomination sits in the lowest tier of this system, used for small transactions within the network of Beryozka ("birch tree") shops, which sold foreign and domestic goods unavailable in the regular Soviet retail economy.

Two distinct series circulated: one with a yellow stripe (for socialist-country currency conversions) and one with a blue stripe (for capitalist-country hard currency). The stripe color determined which goods a holder could actually purchase — the two were not interchangeable at point of sale.