Catalog
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| Issuer | Rīgas Strādnieku Deputātu Padome (Soviet of Riga Workers' Deputies) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | 1 January 1920 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a central circular guilloche in blue and pink, from which bold radiating rays extend toward the borders. At the centre sits a pink five-pointed star enclosing the crossed hammer and pickaxe emblem. The bold letterpress inscription PEECI 5 RUBĻI curves across the upper portion of the note, with numeral 5 counters in star-shaped ornaments at upper left and right corners. A three-line anti-counterfeiting warning in Latvian occupies the lower register, threatening prosecution before the Revolutionary Tribunal. |
| Reverse lettering | PEECI 5 RUBĻI MAINAS ZĪMJU VILTOTAJI KA ARI VILTOTO ZĪMJU IZPLĀTITAJI TIKS SAUKTI PEE ATBILDIBAS REVOLUCIONARA TRIBUNALA PREEKŠĀ UN SODITI AR AUGSTAKO SODA MĒRU |
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| Comments |
The Rīgas Strādnieku Deputātu Padome held power in Riga for roughly five months, from January to May 1919, before Latvian nationalist forces and German Freikorps units under von der Goltz drove the Bolsheviks out. These notes were issued during that brief Soviet occupation as functional currency for a city that had already seen three different governing authorities in under a year. A print run exceeding twelve million for a single denomination — covering a population of perhaps 200,000 — suggests aggressive monetary expansion typical of the period's Soviet administrations.
The issuing body ceased to exist before most of these notes could be withdrawn properly.