Catalog
50 Kopecks Alaska
| Issuer | Russian-American Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1815-1862 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a central oval guilloche vignette enclosing the Cyrillic inscription МАРКА ВЪ АМЕРИКЪ / 50 КОП in bold letterpress type. Below the oval vignette, a handwritten serial number appears within a plain rectangular panel. The note is cut to an irregular hexagonal shape, consistent with the walrus-skin parchment format used for Russian-American Company issues. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse bears a large circular seal of the Russian-American Company at center, enclosing a crowned double-headed Imperial eagle. The surrounding legend reads ЕГО ИМП: ВЕЛИЧ: ПОКРОВИТ: РОССІЙС: АМЕРИКАНС: КОМПАНІЙ ПЕЧАТЬ / ПОДЪ in Cyrillic, identifying the Imperial patronage of the company. Below the seal, the denomination is stated in full: Пятьдесятъ копѣекъ. |
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| Comments |
The Russian-American Company's parchment scrip is among the most materially unusual instruments in the entire history of colonial currency. Issued not by a state but by a chartered monopoly operating at the far edge of the Russian Empire, these notes functioned as a closed-loop medium — redeemable only at Company stores, ensuring that wages paid to workers and promyshlenniki circulated back to the issuer. Walrus hide was the practical choice: paper would not survive the humidity and rough handling of Alaskan trading posts.
The Company held its monopoly charter from 1799. By the 1860s, with the RAC financially weakened and Russian interest in the territory fading, these notes were among the last instruments the colony produced before the 1867 sale to the United States.