New additions week 48 - 2012
A new banknote arrived yesterday by mail. It's the Russian 250 Rubles (P36) issued in 1917 by the Soviet government. The note was also issued by the provisional government but the fact that the serial number starts with AB points to the Soviet issue.
Closer inspection of the note reveals some strange designs: there are swastikas visible! To the uninformed this is somewhat baffling since the note was issued in 1917 at a time when Hitler was still fighting in the trenches of WW I and the Nazi party was still some years away from being formed. The swastika however is not only a Nazi symbol. As you can see in this list from Wikipedia the swastika was used all over Europe prior to it becoming a dominant symbol of the Nazis. The Nazis also used swastikas on their banknotes by the way (like in this complete series which was issued in the occupied territories in Europe). So no worries for the Russians but it's another great addiction to my collection.
The swastikas are on the front and the back of the note but at the back it's most visible:
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