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4 1/2 Roubles - Irkutsk With Overprint
| Issuer | Russia - Civil War Issues (Irkutsk) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A coupon from the Imperial Russian Internal 4½% Lottery Loan of 1917, printed in dark blue-grey with a decorative floral rosette vignette at the upper left and dense typeset text in Cyrillic occupying the central field. The coupon face value of 4 РУБЛЯ 50 КОП. is printed in red at the right, alongside the serial number and the date 16 МАЯ 1927 ГОДА at the top. A bold diagonal Cyrillic overprint in blue ink, applied by Soviet authorities, declares mandatory circulation on par with credit and settlement notes of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 18 American Bank Note Co. |
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| Comments |
This note began life as one of the standard 1917 Kerensky-era fractional issues, printed by ABNCo in New York under a pre-revolutionary contract. The Irkutsk overprint transforms it into something else entirely — a regional improvisation by the Provisional Siberian Government (or one of its successor administrations) scrambling to maintain a functioning currency supply east of the Urals while the civil war severed reliable connections to any central authority.
The "var." designation matters here. Overprint placement, ink color, and Cyrillic text variants differ across known examples, and catalog consensus on this specific subtype remains unsettled. Collectors should document their examples carefully against Kardakov and the Pick supplement.
ABNCo's involvement predates the October Revolution — the plates were ordered by the Provisional Government.