100 Roubles

The 1912 100-Rouble State Credit Note was produced under the monetary framework established by Sergei Witte's 1897 gold reform, which tied rouble issuance to gold reserves held at the State Bank. By 1912, Russia was running one of the largest gold stocks in Europe, and these high-denomination notes were theoretically exchangeable for gold coin — a convertibility that ended abruptly in August 1914 when the government suspended specie payments upon mobilization for war.

The same plate design continued printing well into the revolutionary period, with later Provisional Government and early Soviet-era overprints applied to stock sharing this identical base. Distinguishing 1912-era examples from later printings requires careful attention to the signature combinations in the lower margin.