The E-Sylum:  Volume 7, Number 2, January 11, 2004, Article 17

RUSSIAN CURRENCY CHANGES

  A January 9th article in the Moscow Times reported upcoming
  changes in currency:

  "The ruble will start sporting a new look later this year in an
  effort to outwit counterfeiters, the Central Bank announced
  this week.  There is no need for a run on the bank, First
  Deputy Chairman Arnold Voilukov said at a press conference
  Tuesday. "There will be no exchange," he said.  Anyone finding
  a stash of old rubles in years to come will be able to use them
  "at any time," he said.

  "Voilukov said the Central Bank had decided against a
  fundamental redesign. "The Americans took the path of
  modifying [the $20 bill] and we too ... decided not to change
  the look of the notes but to modify those that already exist."

  Indeed, the changes will be so subtle that some might not
  realize the bill in their hands is a new one, he said.  The new
  bills will incorporate a color-changing foil stripe as well as a
  security thread stitched through the bill rather than embedded
  inside. Bills of 100 rubles and above would come with 126
  laser perforations showing the bill's denomination when held
  up to the light.  This latter innovation has proved itself in
  Switzerland, where the technique has never been successfully
  copied, Voilukov said."

  To read the full article, see:
  http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/01/09/042.html

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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