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50 Kopeks - Foreign Exchange Certificate
| Issuer | Vneshtorgbank (Внешпосылторг) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1965-1972 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Black text on light orange underprint within a dark green guilloche border. The Vneshposyltorg globe-and-initials monogram appears at upper left, with Cyrillic inscription naming the issuing body and denomination. Denomination numeral '50' printed in dark green at upper corners and bottom center; serial number and series letter in red at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain light paper with a central dark green guilloche oval medallion composed of intricate lathe-work scrollwork and interlaced arabesques, set within a scalloped border. The overall design is typographic-free, relying entirely on the fine-line engraved ornamental pattern. |
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| Comments |
The Foreign Exchange Certificates issued by Vneshtorgbank — specifically the Vneshposyltorg series — were not general-circulation Soviet currency. They were scrip instruments created to manage the flow of convertible foreign currency within a closed economy. Soviet citizens who received remittances from abroad, or who worked in certain export-facing roles, were paid in these certificates rather than ordinary rubles, which could not legally be used to purchase imported goods. The certificates were then spent at Beryozka ("birch tree") hard-currency shops, a parallel retail network selling foreign goods unavailable through normal Soviet trade channels.
Two distinct series circulated under this program. The striped-border series, issued from 1965, was eventually replaced by a second series that omitted the stripes — a design change intended to prevent unofficial exchange with foreign tourists, a black-market practice that had become impossible for authorities to ignore.