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500 Talonas 'Coupon'
| Issuer | Republic of Lithuania |
|---|---|
| Year | 1992 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Talonas |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark |
| Protection description | Large squarish diamond with symbol of the republic throughout paper. |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Lithuania's talonas was introduced in May 1992 as a parallel currency alongside the Soviet ruble, which was still circulating — a transitional device designed to assert monetary control before a fully independent currency could be established. The name itself was borrowed from the Russian word for coupon, a deliberate nod to the ration-coupon system that had preceded it. Critically, the talonas was non-convertible from the outset, which made hoarding pointless and drove circulation even as the public distrusted it.
Spindulys in Kaunas had been printing documents and books since the interwar republic. That a domestic printer handled this series mattered politically, even if the security specifications were modest — a simple watermark being the primary protection against counterfeiting.