500 Litu

Lithuania declared independence in March 1990, but the Soviet ruble remained in forced circulation for over a year while the country fought for international recognition. When Lietuva finally moved to restore its own currency in 1991, the litas had been dead since Soviet annexation in 1940 — printing these notes was as much a political act as a monetary one. The United States Banknote Company, which ceased operations in 1989, produced this series before its closure, meaning the physical notes existed before the political conditions for issuing them were fully secured.

At 500 litu, this was the highest denomination in the 1991 restoration series. The USBnc's shutdown makes any attribution of ongoing work impossible — these were a final contract, printed speculatively against a political outcome that was far from certain at the time of manufacture.