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500 Roubles Vladikavkaz Railway Company
| Issuer | Vladikavkaz Railway Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette within an oval frame shows a railway bridge tower with industrial structures; at left, an ornate pedestal dated 1918 with floral garlands. The denomination '500' appears in guilloche panels at upper left, upper right, and lower right, with the main title text in a decorative letterpress panel at centre right. Two manuscript signatures appear at the lower centre beneath their printed role titles. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | ЗАЕМНЫЙ БИЛЕТЪ Общества Владикавказской Желзной Дороги Выпущенный изъ 5,4% срокомъ на ДВА ГОДА въ ПЯТЬСОТЪ РУБЛЕЙ 1 Сентября 1918 года А 3909 ВЫПУСКЪ БИЛЕТОВЪ КОНТРОЛИРУЕТСЯ ПРАВИТЕЛЬСТВОМЪ Председатель Правленiя Начальникъ Глав. Счетоводства ПОДДЕЛКА БИЛЕТА ПРЕСЛЕДУЕТСЯ ЗАКОНОМЪ |
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| Comments |
The Vladikavkaz Railway Company was one of several large industrial enterprises in the North Caucasus that began issuing their own paper obligations in 1918 as the Bolshevik takeover disrupted the banking system and caused conventional currency to vanish from circulation almost overnight. These were not banknotes in any legal sense — they were promissory instruments backed by the company's own commercial standing, accepted locally because there was simply nothing else available.
The railway itself ran from Rostov-on-Don to Baku, making it one of the most strategically contested rail lines during the Civil War period. Notes like this one circulated across territories that changed hands repeatedly between White, Red, and various regional forces throughout 1918 and 1919, which accounts for the wide variation in condition and survival rates seen across the series today.