Catalog
50 Roubles
| Issuer | Republic of Armenia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Roubles |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Brown intaglio print on cream paper with a pale salmon-pink guilloche underprint forming a large central oval. The central field carries the Armenian word for roubles in bold stylised lettering over an intricate lathe-work rosette, flanked by two hexagonal medallions each bearing the numeral 50. The entire composition is enclosed within densely engine-turned scrollwork borders and a multi-tiered ornamental outer frame, with the printer's imprint at the foot. |
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| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
Armenia's 1919 note issues were produced under extraordinary circumstances — the republic, formally recognized by the Allied powers but perpetually under military pressure from both Ottoman forces and the nascent Soviet state, needed circulating currency fast. Waterlow & Sons handled the contract from London, far from any immediate oversight, which was itself a political statement about where the young republic pinned its diplomatic hopes.
The P#30 series includes a watermark, relatively modest security for a Waterlow production of the period, suggesting cost constraints or urgency in procurement. Armenian independence lasted only until late 1920.