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20 Roubles Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia - Shirak
| Issuer | Shirak District Public Bank (Александрополь / Alexandropol) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920-1921 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rouble (1917-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Plain grey paper with a simple ruled rectangular border. The issuing authority is inscribed in Armenian script at the top, reading 'ՇԻՐԱԿԻ ԳԱՒԱՌԱՅԻՆ ՀԱՍԱՐԱԿԱԿԱՆ ԲԱՆՔ', with the large bold denomination numeral '20' at centre flanked by the Armenian legend 'ՔՍԱՆ ՌՈՒԲԼԻ' and the Russian equivalent 'Двадцать рублей'. Below the denomination text, further lines of Armenian script identify the issuing institution, with multiple manuscript authorisation signatures and a handwritten serial number along the left margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Largely unprinted pale paper bearing a single large circular violet rubber stamp applied at centre. The stamp contains a crowned heraldic shield with a cross device at its core, enclosed within a Cyrillic legend reading 'АЛЕКСАНДРОПОЛЬСК. ГОРОДСК. ОБЩЕСТВЕНН. БАНКЪ', identifying the Alexandropol City Public Bank as the validating authority. |
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| Comments |
Alexandropol — now Gyumri — was under Soviet Armenian administration when the Shirak District Public Bank issued this note, but the city had been Ottoman-occupied as recently as 1918 and would change hands again during the brief Turkish-Armenian war of 1920. Local district banks issuing their own paper in this period were filling a vacuum left by the collapse of successive governing authorities, each of which had printed its own currency with diminishing credibility.
The S695 series is among the more obscure provincial Soviet Armenian emissions. Shirak District issues circulated in a geographically limited area and were not backed by any meaningful reserve — survival rates are low simply because nobody thought to preserve them.