TH E RED SCARE: SOVIET CU RREN CY
On Christm as Day, 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. One “Union” of Soviet Socialist Republics
was now 15 independent nations: the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia; the Eastern
European countries of Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine; Arm enia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, in the
Caucasus; the sprawling Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkm enistan, and Uzbekistan; and Russia itself. Thus ended its run as one of the two
superpowers that dom inated the world stage for half a century.
During the Cold War, the USSR and its Warsaw Pact affiliates vied for global suprem e-acy
against the United States and its NATO allies. With both sides capable of wiping each other
out—and destroying the world in the process—neither were inclined to push the button. This
concept of m utually assured destruction, or MAD, prom pted both governments to adopt
different, more subtle m eans of warfare. In places like Korea, Vietnam , and Afghanistan,
Marxist/ Com m unist governm ents aligned with the Reds
fought bloody civil wars against Western-backed pro-capitalist regim es.
The two sides com peted for technological superiority. The Soviets launched Sputnik 1, the first
satellite, in 1957—an event m et with near-hysteria in the United States. The Am ericans ramped
up their own space program , creating NASA, investing heavily in research and developm ent,
and, just 12 years after Sputnik, landing a m an on the m oon. Meanwhile, all around the world,
the CIA, the KGB, and their affiliated agencies worked through sabotage, propaganda, and,
som etim es, assassination.
The kopek coins and the ruble banknote in this collection were the last currency issues
circulating in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. First minted in 1961—the year the Berlin
Wall was built—the coins were in circulation during the terms of Nikita Krushchev, Leonid
Brezhnev, Uri Andropov, Constantine Chernenko and Mikhael Gorbachev. In 1991, the 1 ruble
banknote was redesigned and reissued.
Soviet Currency
These coins and banknote are genuine artifacts of the form er Soviet Union. The coins all show,
in m iniature, the seal of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In its full scale, the nam es of all
of the republics that were incorporated into the U.S.S.R. are listed on the ribbons that are
wrapped around the sheaves of wheat located on either side of the iconic ham m er and sickle.
KM12 6 a, 1 ko p e k, bras s
W e igh t: 1 g; D ia m e te r: 15 .0 5 m m
KM12 7a , 2 ko p e k, b ras s
W e igh t: 2 g; D ia m e te r: 18 m m
KM12 8 a , 3 ko p e k, b ras s
W e igh t: 3 g; D ia m e te r: 2 2 .0 5 m m
KM12 9 a, 5 ko p e k, bras s
W e igh t: 5 g; D ia m e te r: 2 5 .1 m m
KM13 0 , 10 ko p e k, co p p e r-n icke l
W e igh t: 1.6 g; D ia m e te r: 17.3 5 m m
KM13 1, 15 ko p e k, co p p e r-n icke l
W e igh t: 2 .5 g; D iam e te r: 19 .5 7 m m
KM13 2 , 2 0 ko p e k, co p p e r-n icke l
W e igh t: 3 .2 g; D iam e te r: 2 2 m m
KM13 3 a.2 , 50 ko pe k, co ppe r-n icke l
W e igh t: 4 .5 g; D iam e te r: 2 4 .0 8 m m
Th e n o te : P2 3 7, 1 ru ble
D im e n s io n s : 115 x 53
mm
Obve rs e : Arm s at u ppe r
le ft, re d o n m u ltico lo r
u n d e rp rin t. Re ve rs e :
d e n o m in atio n at le ft.
Coins and banknote are
packaged in a handsom e
leatherette folder, along
w ith story and certificate of
authenticity . Im ages show
ty pical coins and banknote,
not to scale and is for
illustration purpose only .
Ord e r co de :
RU SSLASTALB
Album open m easures:
11” x 7.5”, closed: 5.5” x 7.5”