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1 Rouble Arktikugol
| Issuer | Arktikugol Trust |
|---|---|
| Year | 1951 |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | NP#AR41 |
| Obverse description | Printed in dark blue-black letterpress on cream paper, the obverse carries multi-line Cyrillic text arranged in a hierarchical layout identifying the USSR Ministry of Coal Industry and the State Trust Arktikugol, followed by a serial-numbered coupon designation and a bold large numeral '1' at centre. The denomination legend ОДИН РУБЛЬ appears in large type below the central numeral, flanked by two smaller repeated numerals '1', with a green guilloche vignette panel printed to the left margin. The date 1951 is set at lower left, and a cautionary clause regarding loss of the coupon appears along the bottom edge. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 1 |
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| Comments |
Arktikugol ("Arctic Coal") was a Soviet state trust operating the Svalbard coal mines under the 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty, which granted Norway sovereignty but allowed other signatories to conduct commercial activity on the archipelago. Because Svalbard fell outside Soviet monetary jurisdiction, the trust issued its own scrip for internal use at Barentsburg — workers received wages in these notes and spent them at the company store, with no requirement to handle Norwegian kroner in daily life. The arrangement suited Moscow's need to maintain a closed economic bubble within foreign territory.
The 1951 series replaced an earlier postwar issue. Surviving examples with visible circulation wear are actually more common than pristine ones, given how actively this scrip moved within the small mining community.