THE SOCHI 100 RUBLE AND OTHER RUSSIAN BANKNOTES

In this piece, we look at contemporary Russian currency; specifically, large denomination banknotes starting at the 100 Ruble note and going up to 5,000 Rubles. Despite the seemingly large values, all but the 5,000 note can be had in uncirculated condition for under $100. Each of the notes has been beautifully re-designed in recent years and features state-of-the-art anti-counterfeiting measures.

Sochi 2014 100 Ruble Note (Со́чи 2014 Cто Pублей) – 2013
The Bank of Russia first issued the Sochi Commemorative 100 Ruble note in October 2013. Printed on white cotton paper, the note measures 160 x 65 mm and features ornamental, vertically oriented designs in the style of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Both sides boast attractive and colorful artwork, printed using a complex 10 screen process. The bills also utilize anti-counterfeiting measures such as watermarks and raised ink.

The front features a snowboarder taking to the air against the backdrop of Mount Fisht and the Sochi coastal cluster. An oval-shaped watermark is located beneath the building complex.

5,000 Ruble Note (Пять Tысяч Pублей) – 2010

Like the 500 and 1,000 Ruble notes, the circulating 5,000 Ruble note is based on a design first printed in 1997 and revised in 2010. The current issue was released into circulation in June 2011. The note is horizontally oriented, measures 157 x 69 mm, and is predominantly orange with coordinating purples, yellows, maroons, reds and greens.

On the note’s front is a likeness of the bronze statue of Nikolay Nikolayevich Muravyov-Amursky (Никола́й Никола́евич Муравьёв-Аму́рский), a Russian Imperial statesman. His most notable achievement was the signing of the Treaty of Aigun in 1858, which established a border between Russia and Manchuria in present-day Northeast China at the Amur River.

The back of the note features the Khabarovsk Bridge (Хабаровский Mост), which wasn’t completed until 1999. The 3,890 meter bridge crosses the Amur (Тамур) River and connects Khabarovsk with Imeni Telmana (имени Тельмана), a special zone created by Joseph Stalin in 1934 to give Russian Jews a region of self governance within the Soviet Union.

To read the complete article, see: The Sochi 100 Ruble Note and Other Circulating Russian Banknotes: A Brief Primer (www.coinweek.com/featured-news/sochi-100-ruble-note-circulating-russian-banknotes-brief-primer/)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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