KOGUJA Banknotes Catalog

3 Rubles 1917 — Russia

Region: Russia
Period: Southern Russia
Front side
3 Rubles Russia 1917 — Front side
Back side
3 Rubles Russia 1917 — Back side

Banknote description

The banknote is a 1 Ruble 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
Paper
Plain white, no watermark

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 1 Ruble note, the smallest denomination of the mininki series, circulated most intensively and is most commonly found today in heavily worn condition — evidence of its daily use in the markets, factories, and shops of Tsaritsyn in the turbulent months of late 1917 and into 1918. Its personal endorsement by Minin, an unusual feature for emergency municipal currency, gave the entire series its popular name.

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