500 rubles — USSR (1918)

Photo: Daniel LeBowsky (CC BY-NC-SA) · en.numista.com

Watermark

Photo: Daniel LeBowsky (CC BY-NC-SA) · en.numista.com

Horizontal "500" repeated in offset vertical columns across the note.

Issue history

The Pyatakov note is essentially a Provisional Government banknote: it was prepared in 1917, and the double-headed eagle without imperial regalia on the reverse follows a drawing by I. Bilibin. It was printed at the Goznak factory in Penza. Issue was planned for 1918, but the October Revolution got in the way, and the note only reached circulation in May 1919 (the 5000 and 10000 roubles in December). What makes it Soviet is only the facsimile signature of G. Pyatakov.

Blocks and cashiers

Every note carries two signatures: Chief Commissioner of the People's Bank G. Pyatakov (the same on all) and a cashier. In series АА and АБ the cashier is fixed by the last digit of the block number (in АБ the first blocks АБ-009 and АБ-010 are listed on their own rows). The note was printed in three places: series АА in Penza, АБ in Moscow, АГ in Perm. Series АГ consists of fourteen blocks (АГ-601…АГ-614), each listed on its own row: АГ-601…АГ-610 have a horizontal watermark, АГ-611…АГ-614 a vertical one, and block АГ-608 carries the signature of cashier N. Lavrovskiy, who does not appear on other blocks. 127 blocks were issued in all: АА-001…АА-095, АБ-001…АБ-018 and АГ-601…АГ-614, 1,000,000 notes per block.

Specifications

Period

1918 issue (Pyatakov notes)

Currency

1 ruble = 100 kopecks

Issue type

Circulation

Material

Paper

Size

153.0 × 104.0 mm

Issuer

Goznak

Dominant color

green

Watermark

Yes

Demonetized

Dec. 31, 1922

Variants

Chief Commissioner of the People's Bank: Pyatakov G.L.

Year	Series	Cashier	Signature	Print run	Details
1918	—	—		—	Specimen, perforated "ОБРАЗЕЦ"
1918	АА-xx0	Galtsov S.I.		9M	Penza
1918	АА-xx1	Titov D.M.		10M	Penza
1918	АА-xx2	Osipov M.I.		10M	Penza
1918	АА-xx3	Alekseyev A.M.		10M	Penza
1918	АА-xx4	Baryshev P.K.		10M	Penza
1918	АА-xx5	Geilman E.K.		10M	Penza
1918	АА-xx6	Zhikharev E.V.		9M	Penza
1918	АА-xx7	Loshkin N.K.		9M	Penza
1918	АА-xx8	de-Millo H.L.		9M	Penza
1918	АА-xx9	Starikov N.V.		9M	Penza
1918	АБ-009	Starikov N.V.		1M	Moscow
1918	АБ-010	Galtsov S.I.		1M	Moscow
1918	АБ-xx1	Titov D.M.		2M	Moscow
1918	АБ-xx2	Osipov M.I.		2M	Moscow
1918	АБ-xx3	Alekseyev A.M.		2M	Moscow
1918	АБ-xx4	Baryshev P.K.		2M	Moscow
1918	АБ-xx5	Geilman E.K.		2M	Moscow
1918	АБ-xx6	Zhikharev E.V.		2M	Moscow
1918	АБ-xx7	Loshkin N.K.		2M	Moscow
1918	АБ-xx8	de-Millo H.L.		2M	Moscow
1918	АГ-601	Geilman E.K.		1M	Perm, horizontal watermark
1918	АГ-602	Zhikharev E.V.		1M	Perm, horizontal watermark
1918	АГ-603	Loshkin N.K.		1M	Perm, horizontal watermark
1918	АГ-604	de-Millo H.L.		1M	Perm, horizontal watermark
1918	АГ-605	Starikov N.V.		1M	Perm, horizontal watermark
1918	АГ-606	Titov D.M.		1M	Perm, horizontal watermark
1918	АГ-607	Osipov M.I.		1M	Perm, horizontal watermark
1918	АГ-608	Lavrovskiy N.A.		1M	Perm, horizontal watermark
1918	АГ-609	Alekseyev A.M.		1M	Perm, horizontal watermark
1918	АГ-610	Baryshev P.K.		1M	Perm, horizontal watermark
1918	АГ-611	Geilman E.K.		1M	Perm, vertical watermark
1918	АГ-612	Zhikharev E.V.		1M	Perm, vertical watermark
1918	АГ-613	Loshkin N.K.		1M	Perm, vertical watermark
1918	АГ-614	de-Millo H.L.		1M	Perm, vertical watermark