25 rublei 1918
“North Russia”
About This Note
This is a 25 Rublei note issued by the Arkhangelsk Branch of the State Bank in 1918, graded AU and representing an important emergency currency from Russia's Civil War period. The note features an ornate classical landscape vignette with allegorical figures, fine engraving work, and extensive Cyrillic text establishing its temporary status and mandatory circulation within Arkhangelsk Province. The AU condition shows expected handling wear including creases and folds, with notable handwritten annotations overlaid on the front, reflecting the practical use of these emergency notes during North Russia's tumultuous post-revolutionary period.
Common. While Civil War-era regional emergency issues are historically significant, the Arkhangelsk 25 Rublei appears with reasonable frequency in the collector market. Multiple specimens exist in various grade levels across institutional and private collections. The note's utilitarian design, straightforward security features, and production by an established bank branch suggest an adequate print run for its temporary but mandatory circulation mandate within a significant provincial zone. No evidence of extreme scarcity, recall, or severe attrition that would elevate rarity status.
This emission represents the monetary chaos of the Russian Civil War, when Arkhangelsk—a key White Russian stronghold and Allied intervention zone in North Russia—required its own emergency currency separate from Bolshevik-controlled rubles. The classical allegorical vignette depicting figures by water reflects pre-revolutionary design traditions, while the explicit text stating the note's temporary issuance and mandatory local circulation documents the fragmented Russian monetary system of 1918. The Arkhangelsk Branch's independent issuance underscores how regional authorities improvised currency solutions as central authority collapsed.
The front features a horizontally-oriented classical landscape vignette as the dominant design element, depicting an allegorical scene with water (river or seascape), vegetation, and two human figures—one male and one female—in classical dress representing mythological or symbolic personages, likely representing Russia or prosperity. The vignette is framed by an elaborate ornamental border composed of fine scrollwork, floral motifs, and decorative corner ornaments executed in fine-line engraving. The denomination '25 РУБЛЕЙ' appears prominently across the center of the vignette. The reverse side abandons imagery entirely, presenting a text-only design with the same ornate border framing, reinforcing the legal authority of the issuer. The color scheme employs blue-gray and tan tones on the front with mauve/purple tones on the reverse, typical of pre-1917 Russian credit note traditions adapted for emergency wartime issuance.
FRONT SIDE: 'ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ КРЕДИТНЫЙ БИЛЕТ' (State Credit Note) — 'РУБЛЕЙ' (Rubles) — 'ВРЕМЕННО ВЫПУСКАЕТСЯ АРХАНГЕЛЬСКИМ ОТДЕЛЕНИЕМ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО БАНКА И ОБ ПРЕДПОХАХ АРХАНГЕЛЬСКОЙ ГУБЕРНИИ ОБЯЗАТЕЛЬНО В ОБРАЩЕНИЕ НАРАВНЕ СО КРЕДИТНЫМИ БИЛЕТАМИ' (Temporarily issued by the Arkhangelsk Branch of the State Bank and within the bounds of Arkhangelsk Province, mandatory for circulation on equal terms with State Credit Notes) — 'ПОДДЕЛКА ПРЕСЛЕДУЕТСЯ ЗАКОНОМ' (Forgery is prosecuted by law). BACK SIDE: 'ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ БАНК' (State Bank) — 'Временно выпускается' (Temporarily issued) — 'АРХАНГЕЛЬСКИМ ОТДЕЛЕНИЕМ' (By the Arkhangelsk Branch) — 'ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО БАНКА' (of the State Bank) — 'и об предпохах Архангельской губернии обязательны в обращению наравне со кредитными билетами' (and mandatory for circulation in Arkhangelsk Province on equal terms with credit notes) — 'Подделка преследуется законом' (Forgery is prosecuted by law) — 'АРХАНГЕЛЬСКОЕ ОТДЕЛЕНИЕ' (Arkhangelsk Branch).
This note was produced using intaglio (engraved steel plate) printing, evidenced by the fine-line details visible in the decorative borders, the complex tonal gradations within the landscape vignette, and the precise Cyrillic letterpress typography. The multi-color printing (blue-gray/tan front, mauve/purple reverse) suggests separate plate runs or potentially chromolithographic enhancement. This technique was standard for Russian State Bank issues of the pre-revolutionary and early Soviet period. The Arkhangelsk Branch likely contracted with an existing Russian printing facility, possibly the State Printing Works in Petrograd or another regional press.
The Pick catalog (P-S104) identifies this as the standard 25 Rublei Arkhangelsk emission with PMG cataloging one variant. Observable distinguishing features on this specimen include the handwritten annotations overlaid on the front vignette, which may indicate manuscript signatures or authorization marks typical of emergency notes of this era. Varieties within this Pick number may exist based on printer variants, color shade variations (particularly the front blue-gray and reverse mauve coloring), or signatures of branch officials, though the specific signatories are not clearly legible in the provided images. Serial number prefixes, if visible, would constitute additional variety markers.
