500 rubles — RSFSR (1921)

The five-hundred-rouble settlement note of the 1921 issue was authorised by the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of 16 June 1921 and went into circulation that same June; it was issued by the Budget and Settlement Department of the People's Commissariat of Finance. The date '1921' is printed on the note itself, but it carries no signatures or serial numbers. It was printed at Goznak factories, in sheets of 20 (4 × 5). The notes began to be withdrawn from circulation on 1 July 1922, and could be exchanged for 1922-series roubles at 10,000 to 1 until 1 November 1922.

The paper occurs in three varieties: with a watermark of the value numerals '500' (Pick 111a), six-pointed stars (111b) and lozenges (111c). Specimens are perforated or overprinted with «ОБРАЗЕЦ».

The obverse shows the RSFSR coat of arms and the value '500 РУБЛЕЙ' at the centre, 'РАСЧЕТНЫЙ ЗНАК' above and 'ОБЕСПЕЧИВАЕТСЯ ВСЕМ ДОСТОЯНИЕМ РЕСПУБЛИКИ' below. The printing is blue, and the reverse is almost blank, showing only a background pattern in the same colour. The note measures 83 × 47 mm.