Russia (1915-1917)

This serie of banknotes belongs to the period after the beginning of the WW1, in which Russia had gone to help Serbia. Despite the fact that the Russian army was much larger than the German or Austrian army, its armament resources were minimal and also, csar Nicholas II refused the help of the Duma, being advised by his wife and the famous adviser Grigori Rasputin. With the development of the war, the public opinion was putting against the government by the famine (the enemy armies besieged the ports), the military failures and the bureaucratic ineptitude. The following year this situation continued to worsen, with many strikes by workers and peasants, in addition to the numerous losses caused by the war and the loss of prestige caused by the growing influence of Rasputin (assassinated that same year). This period ended with the overthrow of csar Nicholas II. There are banknotes of 1 kopek, 2 kopeks, 3 kopeks, 5 kopeks, 10 kopeks, 15 kopeks, 20 kopeks and 50 kopeks.

50 kopeks (пятьдесят копѣулъ)

This banknote worth 50 kopeks was first circulated in 1915. On the main side it can be seen the written value of the banknote and the Russian coat of arms with an eagle holding coat of arms (from left to right: Kazan; Poland, Crimea; Kiev, Novgorod, Vladimir; Moscow (center), Finland, Siberia, Caucasus, Astrakhan). In the lower part there's a text saying that there are also silver coins circulating with the same value. Moreover there are two 50's and two tree branches.
The rest of the banknote and the background is fulled with geometric elements. On the other side of the banknote there are two 50's, the written value of the banknote and the Russian coat of arms, with a text saying that counterfeiting banknotes is punished by law. This banknote has a mosaic as digital watermark. The size of this banknote is 10 cm x 6 cm.