Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
25 Kopecks Alaska
| Issuer | Russian-American Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1816-1852 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 25 Kopecks |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Octagonal parchment note with a central oval guilloche vignette enclosing the denomination and issuing legend in Cyrillic letterpress. A handwritten serial number appears in an oval cartouche beneath the central vignette, with a blank rectangular panel at the lower margin intended for manuscript annotations or validation. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ЕГО ИМП: ВЕЛИЧ: ПОКРОВИТ: РОССІЙС: АМЕРИКАНС: КОМПАНІЙ ПЕЧАТЬ / Двадцать пять копѣекъ |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Russian-American Company's scrip notes are among the most materially unusual monetary instruments ever produced in North America. Unable to import sufficient coinage or paper currency to the colonies, the Company issued these notes locally on walrus hide — a practical solution in a territory where walrus hunting was a primary industry and the material was immediately available. The 1816 series inaugurated the practice; the 1852 notes represent the final issue before Russian America's commercial decline accelerated toward the 1867 cession.
Surviving examples are extremely rare. The substrate does not age well under archival conditions unfamiliar with hide preservation, and most circulating pieces suffered from the harsh climate of Sitka and the Aleutian posts.