KOGUJA Banknotes Catalog

1 ruble 1917 — Russia

Region: Russia
Period: Southern Russia
Front side
1 ruble Russia 1917 — Front side
Back side
1 ruble Russia 1917 — Back side

Banknote description

The banknote is a 3 Rubles issued in Tsaritsyn (Russia) in 1917. It belongs to the Tsaritsyn Municipal Emergency Issue series and falls within the Russian Civil War period. This note is referenced in the Chuchin and Kardakov catalogs under the Crimea and South-Eastern Russia section, though both catalogs incorrectly assign the year 1918.

The front side design features the denomination in prominent numerals within an ornamental frame, alongside the text identifying it as a Temporary Credit Note of the Tsaritsyn city administration, a series letter, and a serial number. The reverse side displays the denomination, ornamental elements, and additional text.

This banknote is produced on plain white paper without watermarks and was personally signed by Sergei Konstantinovich Minin, chairman of the Tsaritsyn Bolshevik Committee and elected city mayor. The absence of the Provisional Government eagle emblem is a deliberate political statement. The total amount produced across all denominations is estimated at several thousand notes.

https://www.koguja.ee/en/articles/banknote-history/mininki-banknotes-of-tsaritsyn-1917-the-revolutionary-emergency-currency-that-defied-the-provisional-government

Specifications

Signed by
S.K. Minin, City Mayor of Tsaritsyn
Date of issue
Autumn 1917
Colour
Black on white

About this banknote

The Tsaritsyn City Duma issued the 1917 emergency notes to overcome a financial blockade imposed by the Russian Provisional Government, which had cut off central funding to the city in an attempt to undermine the Bolshevik-controlled municipal administration led by Sergei Minin.

The 3 Rubles note is the mid-range small denomination of the mininki series. Like the 1 Ruble, it circulated heavily in everyday commerce and is typically encountered today in worn to heavily worn condition. Together with the 1 and 5 Ruble notes, it represents the workhorse denominations of the series — the notes that actually passed through workers' hands at the Tsaritsyn factories and bazaars during the revolutionary autumn of 1917.

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