2021-07-27
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The Russian state. Treasury notes of the sample of 1919. The catalogs are marked 'not released'.
'Manuscripts don't burn', money burns, but it doesn't burn
Autumn of 1919, the South of Russia. Mikhail Vladimirovich Bernatsky, the head of the finance Department under the Commander-in-Chief of the VSYUR, who led the economic block under both Denikin and Wrangel, conceived to carry out an economic reform in the territory controlled by the VSYUR, the most important part of which was the regulation of monetary circulation.
Of all the variety of banknotes that went around in the South of Russia, Bernatsky proposed at the first stage of the reform to leave only 3 types: all-Russian (Nikolaev and kerenki), Don and VSYUR. Next, it was supposed to issue new money of the same type with a new design – on behalf of the Russian State.
It should be borne in mind that Bernatsky was previously personally involved in the conclusion in October 1917 by the Kerensky government of a contract with the American Bank Note Co company for the production of Russian credit cards with democratic symbols, but the money was sent by the Americans by sea through Vladivostok and did not reach the South of Russia.
Bernatsky made a second attempt to produce all-Russian money with a new symbolism with the British, signing a contract with Waterlow & Sons in 1919 to print not credit, but treasury notes of the following denominations:
- 1 ruble,
- 3 rubles,
- 5 rubles,
- 50 rubles,
- 100 rubles,
- 500 rubles.
Why did Bernatsky need treasury tickets of small denominations with the growing inflationary depreciation of existing WSSUR tickets?
The English order was planned for the denomination 100 : 1. In particular, the brand-new 100 rubles were to replace the largest denomination of the VSYUR - a 10-thousand-dollar bill of greenish-brown color with George the Victorious and two women in military helmets.
The British printed the money, the signatures of M. V. Bernatsky and the head of the Credit Department B. K. Suvchinsky were put on them and sent a parcel to the Crimea.
But with the receipt of the money circulation ordered abroad, Bernatsky was not lucky again: in November 1920, the Reds stormed the Crimea, seized the banknotes sent from England and burned them! - as they assumed, the entire ordered edition.
Later it turned out that the Bolsheviks did not destroy all the money printed by the British.
On the back of my 100 ruble bill in the upper right and left corners there are characteristic black spots-these remain on the paper from the fire when the process of its gorenje for some reason stops.
I would venture to assume that this 100 ruble ticket escaped its fate either due to the negligence of the executors of the order, or, on the contrary, among the Red Army soldiers there were bonists who understood the value of banknotes from the circulation to be destroyed – they took out a slightly burnt, and otherwise perfectly preserved bill without any traces of its circulation.
The AG 1567315 bill is rare for 2 reasons: firstly, it escaped burning at the stake (and even has the appropriate markings), and secondly, the AA, AB, AB series have black letters, as well as the numbers of the bills, and only the AG series has a brown color instead of black.
Государство Российское. Казначейские билеты образца 1919 года. По каталогам проходят с пометкой - «не выпущены».
100 рублей 1919 г., Россия
Country
:
Россия
Denomination
:
100 рубль
Year
:
1919
Quantity
:
Issuer
:
Series
:
Valid from
:
Valid till
:
Cancelled
:
Alexander R.
