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50 Kopeks
| Issuer | Russian-American Company / Российско-американская компания |
|---|---|
| Year | 1816-1852 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is centred on an oval guilloche vignette with fine lathe-work surround, carrying the denomination inscription in Cyrillic. A serial number panel in white reserve is positioned below the oval, and a blank rectangular panel occupies the foot of the note. The overall design is typographic and restrained, printed in black on plain paper. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ЕГО ИМП: ВЕЛИЧ: ПОКРОВИТ: ПОД ВЫСОЧАЙШ: РОССІЙС: АМЕРИ-КАНС: КОМПА-НІЙ ПЕЧАТЬ Пятьдесятъ копѣекъ. |
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| Comments |
The Russian-American Company was a chartered trading monopoly — Russia's answer to the East India Company — that administered Alaska and conducted fur trade operations across the North Pacific. These small-denomination notes were issued not by any central bank but by the Company itself, circulating as private scrip among employees, indigenous workers, and settlers at remote outposts where coined money rarely reached. They functioned as a closed-loop currency: earned at the Company store, spent at the Company store.
The 36-year date range reflects continuous reissue rather than a single print run. Surviving examples are genuinely rare; Alaska's harsh climate and the note's purely local circulation ensured that very few made it back to European Russia intact.