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200 Roubles Irkutsk
| Issuer | Russian Provisional Government (Государственный Внутренний Выигрышный Заём 1917) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
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| Value | 200 Roubles |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of an allegorical female figure with a child, sword and shield at upper centre, set within an ornate border with guilloche patterning. Large numerals '200' appear at upper left and right corners. The body of the note carries dense Cyrillic text relating to the State Internal 4½% Lottery Loan of 1917, issued on the authority of the Provisional Government decree of 11 August 1917, with series and ticket numbers printed in the lower margin area. A manuscript stamp of the Irkutsk treasury authority appears in red at lower left. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a detailed lottery prize table headed 'ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ВНУТРЕННІЙ 4½% ВЫИГРЫШНЫЙ ЗАЕМЪ 1917 ГОДА', with a multi-column tabulation of draw numbers and corresponding prize values, framed by an ornate guilloche border with foliate corner ornaments. A descriptive text block in Cyrillic above and below the table explains the terms of the lottery loan, including draw schedules and prize structure. The imprint of the American Bank Note Company appears at the foot of the note. |
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| Comments |
This note belongs to the short-lived Provisional Government's internal lottery loan series — a financing mechanism that combined bond issuance with prize draws to attract public subscription during the catastrophic fiscal strain of continued participation in the First World War. The Irkutsk designation reflects the regional distribution network, not a separate issuing authority.
The American Bank Note Company contract is significant. By 1917, the Provisional Government had lost confidence in Petrograd's own printing capacity, which had been badly overstretched producing Kerensky-era currency. ABNC's New York facility offered the security printing infrastructure that domestic presses simply could not reliably deliver.
The Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917 rendered the lottery obligations effectively worthless within weeks of many notes reaching circulation.