10 Kopecks

Arktikugol — the Soviet state trust that mined coal on Svalbard — operated a closed internal economy at Barentsburg and Pyramiden entirely in its own scrip, which circulated in the company stores, canteens, and services available to the workforce. Norwegian law prohibited the use of Soviet roubles on the archipelago, and the trust was equally unwilling to pay workers in Norwegian kroner that could be freely converted or spent elsewhere. The scrip was the solution: functional within the settlements, worthless anywhere else.

The 1979 series replaced earlier issues and remained in use until the Soviet presence on Svalbard began winding down after the 1991 collapse. Pyramiden was fully abandoned by 1998.