3 Kopecks

Arktikugol — the Soviet state trust established in 1931 to mine coal on Svalbard — operated under Norwegian sovereignty but Soviet administration, a jurisdictional oddity that made ordinary Soviet currency impractical. Rather than deal with the complications of Norwegian customs and currency law, the trust printed its own scrip for use exclusively within the Barentsburg and Pyramiden mining settlements. These notes, often called "coal money," had no validity anywhere outside the archipelago's Soviet enclaves.

The 1979 series replaced an earlier issue as the trust updated its internal payment infrastructure. Scrip was used for canteen purchases, small goods, and services within the camps — Norwegian kroner were used for any dealings outside.