250 rubles — RSFSR (1919) — “Babylonian note”

Photo: Numista
Non-commercial use only

Watermark

Photo: Daniel LeBowsky (CC BY-NC-SA) · Numista
Non-commercial use only

• The numeral "250" running along diagonals.
• Small six-pointed stars over the whole field.

Issue history

The 250-ruble note of the second 1919 series is another "Babylonian note": the slogan "Workers of the world, unite" on the reverse is set in several languages, among them Arabic and Chinese. It is dated 1919 but came out in March 1920. The plan called for 200 blocks in each of three series; 174 blocks were actually issued, 174 million notes. A decree of 28 June 1922 stopped the issue; until 1 November 1922 the notes could be exchanged for 1922-series rubles at 10,000 to 1.

Series, cashiers and factories

The note carries two signatures: that of the People's Commissar of Finance N. Krestinsky (the same on all) and one of ten cashiers, set by the last digit of the block number. The note was printed by three Goznak factories, and the series shows which one: the First Moscow factory printed series АА (blocks 001–072), Penza АБ (001–064) and Perm (the Urals) АВ (001–038). Each block is 1,000,000 notes; varieties are distinguished by series and last block digit.

Sheets, watermarks and specimens

The notes were printed in sheets of 10 (2 × 5). Most notes have the numeral 250 as a watermark, laid diagonally. Series АБ also occurs with a different watermark — small six-pointed stars (Pick 102b) — but only with the cashiers whose block ends in a digit from 4 to 9. A printing error is known: the reverse printed upside down. Specimens are perforated «ОБРАЗЕЦЪ».

Appearance

The dominant colour of the note is green. The slogan on the reverse is printed in four scripts: Cyrillic, Latin, Arabic and Chinese characters. The note measures 105 × 70 mm.

Specifications

Period

Settlement notes

Currency

1 ruble = 100 kopecks

Issue type

Circulation

Material

Paper

Size

105.0 × 70.0 mm

Issuer

Goznak

Dominant color

green

Watermark

Yes

Demonetized

Nov. 1, 1922

Variants

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Help estimate the varieties — use the “Estimate” button in a table row.

People's Commissar of Finance of the RSFSR: Krestinskiy N.N.

Year	Series	Cashier	Signature	Print run	Price	Details
1919	—	—		—	Estimate	Specimen, perforated "ОБРАЗЕЦЪ". P# 102
1919	АА-xx0	Osipov M.I.		7M	Estimate	Moscow. P# 102
1919	АА-xx1	Titov D.M.		8M	Estimate	Moscow. P# 102
1919	АА-xx2	Galtsov S.I.		8M	Estimate	Moscow. P# 102
1919	АА-xx3	Starikov N.V.		7M	Estimate	Moscow. P# 102
1919	АА-xx4	de-Millo H.L.		7M	Estimate	Moscow. P# 102
1919	АА-xx5	Loshkin N.K.		7M	Estimate	Moscow. P# 102
1919	АА-xx6	Zhikharev E.V.		7M	Estimate	Moscow. P# 102
1919	АА-xx7	Geilman E.K.		7M	Estimate	Moscow. P# 102
1919	АА-xx8	Baryshev P.K.		7M	Estimate	Moscow. P# 102
1919	АА-xx9	Alekseyev A.M.		7M	Estimate	Moscow. P# 102
1919	АБ-xx0	Osipov M.I.		—	Estimate	Penza. P# 102
1919	АБ-xx1	Titov D.M.		—	Estimate	Penza. P# 102
1919	АБ-xx2	Galtsov S.I.		—	Estimate	Penza. P# 102
1919	АБ-xx3	Starikov N.V.		—	Estimate	Penza. P# 102
1919	АБ-xx4	de-Millo H.L.		—	Estimate	Penza. P# 102
1919	АБ-xx5	Loshkin N.K.		—	Estimate	Penza. P# 102
1919	АБ-xx6	Zhikharev E.V.		—	Estimate	Penza. P# 102
1919	АБ-xx7	Geilman E.K.		—	Estimate	Penza. P# 102
1919	АБ-xx8	Baryshev P.K.		—	Estimate	Penza. P# 102
1919	АБ-xx9	Alekseyev A.M.		—	Estimate	Penza. P# 102
1919	АБ-xx4	de-Millo H.L.		—	Estimate	Penza, star watermark. P# 102b
1919	АБ-xx5	Loshkin N.K.		—	Estimate	Penza, star watermark. P# 102b
1919	АБ-xx6	Zhikharev E.V.		—	Estimate	Penza, star watermark. P# 102b
1919	АБ-xx7	Geilman E.K.		—	Estimate	Penza, star watermark. P# 102b
1919	АБ-xx8	Baryshev P.K.		—	Estimate	Penza, star watermark. P# 102b
1919	АБ-xx9	Alekseyev A.M.		—	Estimate	Penza, star watermark. P# 102b
1919	АВ-xx0	Osipov M.I.		3M	Estimate	Perm. P# 102
1919	АВ-xx1	Titov D.M.		4M	Estimate	Perm. P# 102
1919	АВ-xx2	Galtsov S.I.		4M	Estimate	Perm. P# 102
1919	АВ-xx3	Starikov N.V.		4M	Estimate	Perm. P# 102
1919	АВ-xx4	de-Millo H.L.		4M	Estimate	Perm. P# 102
1919	АВ-xx5	Loshkin N.K.		4M	Estimate	Perm. P# 102
1919	АВ-xx6	Zhikharev E.V.		4M	Estimate	Perm. P# 102
1919	АВ-xx7	Geilman E.K.		4M	Estimate	Perm. P# 102
1919	АВ-xx8	Baryshev P.K.		4M	Estimate	Perm. P# 102
1919	АВ-xx9	Alekseyev A.M.		3M	Estimate	Perm. P# 102
1919	—	—		—	Estimate	Full sheet of 10 (2 × 5). P# 102
1919	—	—		—	Estimate	Error: reverse inverted. P# 102

Other items of the period

• 1 ruble (1919) Pick# 81
• 2 rubles (1919) Pick# 82
• 3 rubles (1919) Pick# 83
• 15 rubles (1919) Pick# 98
• 30 rubles (1919) Pick# 99
• 60 rubles (1919) Pick# 100
• 100 rubles (1919) — “Babylonian note” Pick# 101
• 250 rubles (1919) — “Babylonian note” Pick# 102
• 500 rubles (1919) — “Babylonian note” Pick# 103
• 1000 rubles (1919) — “Babylonian note” Pick# 104
• 5000 rubles (1919) — “Babylonian note” Pick# 105
• 10000 rubles (1919) — “Babylonian note” Pick# 106