Banknotes of Tannu-Tuva 3 Aksha note 1940
Obverse: an image of oxen plowing a field next to a tree against the background of the Sayan Mountains and Coat of Arms of the Tuvan People's Republic (1933-1939) at upper center.
Reverse: The value of the note was imprinted on the reverse, flanking a notice written in Tuvan.
Tannu Touva banknotes - Tannu Touva paper money
Tuva Arat Respublik - Tuvan People's Republic
Central Bank of Tannu Tuva 1940 Issue
1 Akşa 3 Akşa 5 Akşa 10 Akşa 25 Akşa
Tuvan Aksha - Tuvan akşa
The Tuvan akşa (Tuvan: Тыва акша, Tyva akşa) was the currency of the Tuvan People's Republic from 1933 to 1944. It was subdivided into 100 kopejek. Akşa in the Tuvan language (Akça as in all other Turkic languages) means "money". The currency was issued by the Central Bank of Tannu Tuva and produced by the Russian enterprise Goznak. The akşa had a value equal to about 3.5 Soviet rubles.
On August 14, 1921, Tannu Tuva declared itself independent and was renamed to the Tuvan People's Republic in 1926. It became an autonomous oblast of the Soviet Union in 1944.
Prior to the introduction of the akşa, Tuva issued overprinted Russian and Soviet banknotes. The first series (issued in 1924) was overprinted with denominations in lan, with the number of lan equal to the face value of the (otherwise obsolete) Russian notes. The second series (issued 1933) carried overprints on Soviet notes in rubles and chervonets. In 1933, the Tuvan government passed a decree which established the akşa, and the Soviet currency already in use was exchangeable at a rate of 1:1. The akşa was later replaced by the Soviet ruble in 1944, following Tannu Tuva's annexation to the Soviet Union.
From 1933 to 1934, Tuvan coins were issued, replacing the Soviet coins already in circulation. The series consisted of aluminum-bronze 1, 2, 3, and 5 kopejek, and cupronickel 10, 15, and 25 kopejek coins. All of the coins displayed the state title of the Tuvan People's Republic on the obverse, encircled by the name of the issuing authority. Inscribed on each coin's obverse was its value (as a numeral and in Tuvan text) and the year of minting.
In 1935, a series of banknotes was introduced, which consisted of 1, 3, 5, 10, and 25 akşa. A total of 2 million akşa in paper money was produced that year. In 1940, a new issue comprising of the same notes with different designs was introduced, and the old notes were replaceable until September 1, 1941. Each note of the new series bore the same design on the obverse: an image of oxen plowing a field next to a tree. The value of the note was imprinted on the reverse, flanking a notice written in Tuvan.