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4½ Roubles Irkutsk
| Issuer | Государственная Комиссия Погашения Долгов (State Commission for Redemption of Debts) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Orange and black coupon note with an ornate guilloche border. The central text block in Cyrillic script states that the bearer of this coupon from a 200-rouble 4½% State Internal Winning Loan of 1917 is to receive four roubles fifty kopecks, free of income tax. The denomination '4 РУБЛЯ 50 КОП.' is printed in a bold box to the upper right, with the date '16 ИЮЛЯ 1925 ГОДА' across the top, series and number fields, and a facsimile signature of the Управляющий Государственной Комиссии Погашения Долгов at the lower left; the imprint 'AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO.' appears at the foot. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in a uniform orange-brown tone, the reverse is dominated by an elaborate lathe-work guilloche frame with symmetrical foliate engine-turned ornaments radiating from each side. At the centre, the coupon number '15' is rendered in large ornate numerals within an oval cartouche, with the imprint 'American Bank Note Co.' in small lettering beneath. |
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| Comments |
The 4½ Rouble denomination is an artifact of tsarist-era postal rate arithmetic — the figure corresponds to specific redemption or remittance increments used in Siberian administrative practice, not a general-circulation face value. By the time these notes reached Irkutsk, the State Commission for Redemption of Debts was operating in increasingly chaotic political conditions; the February Revolution had already occurred, and the Provisional Government inherited both the commission and its outstanding obligations.
American Bank Note Company's involvement reflects a pre-war contract that outlasted the government that placed it. The plates were American; the political authority validating the notes was not the one that ordered them.