50 rubles — USSR (1961)
Pick# 235
Photo:
Numista
Non-commercial use only
Watermark
Right-facing bust of Lenin.
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Special facts
The 1961-series 50-ruble note is a State Bank note. Together with the 100-ruble note it was withdrawn from circulation in January 1991, during the "Pavlov" currency reform, while the lower denominations of the series outlived the USSR and remained in use in Russia until 1993. Only part of the available series range was ever used — just 116 of 394 possible series. This note also has a distinctive watermark — a portrait of Lenin rather than the stars used on the smaller denominations — and instead of a UV stamp, its security feature is colored fluorescent fibers embedded directly in the paper. Some notes have a yellowish paper tint — a printing characteristic, not a result of storage.
Printing defects
On the 1961 50-rouble notes ink smeared during intaglio printing can be found. A rare and very noticeable defect is a sheet fed into the press the wrong way round: the Lenin portrait in the watermark came out mirrored and badly displaced.
Paper type
1961-series notes were printed on two types of paper. The first is matte, greyish-yellow, and is less common. The second is white, glossy on one side, and is far more common. Different denominations switched paper type at different issues. Telling them apart by eye is difficult — it's more reliable to compare several notes side by side.
About the period
The currency reform of 1961 was a 10-to-1 redenomination: from 1 January 1961 old money was exchanged for new money of one tenth the face value. The coins and banknotes of the 1961 pattern circulated until the end of the Soviet Union. More about the period “1961 Monetary Reform”
Coins and banknotes of this year: 1961
Specifications
- Period
- 1961 Monetary Reform
- Currency
- 1 ruble = 100 kopecks
- Issue type
- Circulation
- Material
- Paper
- Size
- 140.0 × 70.0 mm
- Issuer
- Goznak
- Dominant color
- green
- Watermark
- Yes
- Security thread
- No
- Demonetized
- Jan. 26, 1991
Variants
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| Year | Series | Print run | Price | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | — | — | Estimate | Specimen, overprint (uniface pair). P# 235s | + ☆ |
| 1961 | АА-АЯ | — | ≈ $4 | Earliest series range: matte yellow paper. Pick# 235.. P# 235 | + ☆ |
| 1961 | БА-ЗХ | — | ≈ $2 | Bulk of the print run: white paper. Pick# 235.. P# 235 | + ☆ |
| 1961 | ЯА, ЯВ | — | Estimate | Replacement series (only these two exact series, not a full range) for defective notes; yellow paper, same as the earliest main-run range. Pick# 235.. P# 235 | + ☆ |
Other items of the period
-
1 kopeck (1961–1991)
Y# 126
-
2 kopecks (1961–1991)
Y# 127
-
3 kopecks (1961–1991)
Y# 128
-
5 kopecks (1961–1991)
Y# 129
-
10 kopecks (1961–1991)
Y# 130
-
15 kopecks (1961–1991)
Y# 131
-
20 kopecks (1961–1991)
Y# 132
-
50 kopecks (1961)
Y# 133a.1
-
50 kopecks (1964–1991)
Y# 133a.2
-
1 ruble (1961)
Pick# 222
-
1 ruble (1961)
Y# 134a.1
-
1 ruble (1964–1991)
Y# 134a.2
-
3 rubles (1961)
Pick# 223
-
5 rubles (1961)
Pick# 224
-
10 rubles (1961)
Pick# 233
-
25 rubles (1961)
Pick# 234
- 50 rubles (1961) Pick# 235
-
100 rubles (1961)
Pick# 236
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