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500 Roubles Transcaspian Region - British Military Mission
| Issuer | British Military Mission, Transcaspian Region |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Bilingual draft note with English and Cyrillic text promising repayment of 500 roubles on behalf of the British Government; large underprint numeral "500" at centre, Imperial Russian double-headed eagle stamp at upper right, two oval British Military Mission cachets at left. |
|---|---|
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| Signature(s) | Major-General Wilfrid Malleson |
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| Comments |
One of the stranger footnotes in British military history. When General Malleson's mission backed the anti-Bolshevik Transcaspian Provisional Government in 1918–19, the administration faced an immediate practical problem: no functioning currency. The British Military Mission effectively became the issuing authority, producing emergency notes signed by Malleson himself — a serving British officer whose signature appears on what is technically Russian-territory paper money.
The political situation collapsed rapidly. Malleson withdrew in April 1919 as Bolshevik forces advanced, leaving these notes without any redemption mechanism. Circulation was brief and geographically confined to the Ashkhabad region.