I recently posted an introduction to the 'Fiat Museum', my coin and note collection which I intend to exhibit on the blockchain. The collection covers a substantially vast range of countries and periods and I wasn't sure where to start. I fished for suggestions amongst the comments and Hive account@camuel, an old friend who knows of my travels, got back suggesting I start with Belarus (Belorussia).

Historical Background:

I travelled through Belarus in the summer of 1994 (you can read my diary account here) on a backpacking adventure through North-East Europe. I only spent a few days there, stopping off in a couple of cities along the way. The country had started to open up but had not yet been penetrated by globalism and the unfree 'free market'.

Having spent the earlier part of the summer working in Germany, I was carrying Deutsche Marks (Germany's currency before the Euro; at the time £1 = 2.5DM). In Belarus, the exchange rate at the time was 1DM = 1700 Belarussian roubles. The roubles were all paper - coins were not issued until 2016 - and there was even a 1 Rouble note.

The banknotes on display here are from the 'First Ruble' - the first time that the Belarus government started printing its own national currency, breaking away from the Russian rouble which had circulated until then. Things were cheap and I was able to get an example of every available banknote, apart from the 5000, to add to my collection.

Exhibits:

There are 10 different notes in this collection. Of interest is the fact that all the notes are of the same size (10.5 cm x 5.5cm) and quality of texture. Additionally, some of the notes - such as the 3 and 25 roubles, have unusual denominations rarely encountered elsewhere in the world. One side of the notes up to the value of 100 roubles have images of animals, which I really like.