1 Rouble Track-and-Field Athletics

Belarus launched a series of copper-nickel sports roubles in the late 1990s as the country scrambled to establish a numismatic identity following the Soviet collapse. The National Bank began issuing collector pieces almost immediately after monetary independence, partly as a revenue mechanism — hard currency from foreign collectors was a meaningful consideration when the Belarusian rouble itself was in chronic freefall against the dollar throughout this period.