25 Roubles

The State Bank series of the 1880s marked a deliberate shift in Russian imperial monetary policy — these were credit notes backed by a partial metallic reserve, issued as the Finance Ministry under Bunge worked toward the gold standard eventually formalized under Witte in 1897. The 25 Rouble denomination sat in an awkward middle position, too large for routine market transactions but too small for serious commercial settlements, which means genuinely circulated examples typically show heavy wear concentrated at the folds.

Pick lists this as A59, reflecting its provisional classification status — documentation on the precise print run figures and exact issue periods for this series remains incomplete in the standard references.