1991 Soviet 50 Rubles Banknote Lenin / Kremlin

Origin: Soviet Union / USSR

Year: 1991

State: Uncirculated, shows signs of age and storage.

Issuer: State Bank of the USSR (Госбанк СССР)

Material: Paper

Size: 143 × 70 mm

One of the final banknotes of the Soviet Union.

Issued in January 1991, this 50 Rubles note appeared during the USSR's last year of existence.

The front carries the familiar portrait of Vladimir Lenin, alongside the Soviet state emblem and БИЛЕТ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО БАНКА СССР — “Banknote of the State Bank of the USSR.” 

Turn it around and you get a view of the Moscow Kremlin, surrounded by wonderfully dense late-Soviet typography. The denomination is also written in the languages of the 15 Soviet republics.

Cool detail: Hold it against the light and the watermark reveals another portrait of Lenin. The note also contains fluorescent security elements visible under UV light. 

Only months after these notes entered circulation, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. They nevertheless continued circulating during the chaotic post-Soviet transition before eventually being demonetized in 1993.