5 rubles — USSR (1947)

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Watermark

Two-tone: stars in vertical columns.

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Appearance

Black print over a light-orange and light-blue ground. The obverse has an ornamental frame and guilloché around the USSR state emblem at the top, a large value at the center, and below it the denomination in 16 languages of the union republics and the year. The reverse is in dark blue over a multicolor ground: a hammer and sickle at the center in an ornamental frame, with guilloché and the legal text above them and the value at the bottom and in the corners. The paper carries a watermark of stars arranged in columns. The note's own title reads "State Treasury Note", although it was issued by the State Bank of the USSR. No signatures. 143 × 88 mm. There are eight varieties: font I and font II, each with four ways of writing the series letters; two specimens with a red "ОБРАЗЕЦ" overprint (one also perforated) are known as well.

The 1947 currency reform

The reform was carried out by a joint decree of the USSR Council of Ministers and the CPSU(b) Central Committee of 14 December 1947 (in force from 16 December): cash was exchanged for new money at 10 to 1, ending the wartime surplus of currency. Seven denominations were issued, from 1 to 100 rubles, all dated "1947". The denominations differ in color, size and watermark. The 1, 3 and 5 ruble notes are titled "State Treasury Notes" and the 10, 25, 50 and 100 ruble notes "State Bank Notes", but all were issued by the State Bank of the USSR. After 1956, when the Karelo-Finnish SSR ceased to be a union republic, the denomination text was printed in 15 languages instead of 16 -- hence two types of every denomination: "16 republics" (1947) and "15 republics" (from 1957 — the 1957 modification: the notes keep the original 1947 date). Within each type, collectors tell apart number fonts and series formats. Not every red "ОБРАЗЕЦ" (specimen) overprint on 15-republic notes marks a specimen: some of these notes carry a later cancellation applied for collectors after 1961. All notes were withdrawn by the 1961 reform (1 April 1961).