3 rubles — RSFSR (1919)

The three-rouble settlement note of the 1919 series was introduced by the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of 4 February 1919. It carries no date, signatures or serial numbers. It was printed by the Orlov method in Petrograd at the Expedition for the Preparation of State Papers; 490.4 million notes were printed. The notes began to be withdrawn from circulation in mid-1921; issuing ended on 1 July 1922, and they could be exchanged for 1922-series roubles at 10,000 to 1 until 1 November 1922. Not to be confused with the three-rouble note of 1921, whose whole reverse is green (Pick 84).

The notes were printed in sheets of 25 (5 × 5) and cut apart by hand. A full sheet is worth more than single notes (Denisov catalogue: К3-3л). Specimens are perforated «ОБРАЗЕЦ».

The obverse is green. The reverse is multicoloured on a guilloché background, with the value in the upper corners and an ornate value panel in the centre. The paper carries a lozenge watermark across the whole field. The size of the note varies noticeably, because the sheets were cut by hand.