1935 Alaska RRC Bingle Dime

Coin Details

Auction Record

$504 MS65 11-30-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1935 Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation ten-cent bingle occupies the middle of the lower denominations in the Matanuska Colony scrip series. Struck in brass, this piece circulated alongside the cent, nickel, quarter, half dollar, dollar, five dollar, and ten dollar values within the closed economy of the federal resettlement colony in the Matanuska Valley, approximately 40 miles north of Anchorage. The Matanuska Colony was one of the most dramatic of Roosevelt's New Deal experiments. Some 202 families, selected from relief rolls in northern-tier states, were transported by rail and ship to Alaska in the spring and summer of 1935 to establish a self-sustaining agricultural community. The colonists faced enormous challenges including inadequate housing, short growing seasons, and the unfamiliar Alaskan environment. Many families left within the first year, though a core group persevered and established the community that grew into the modern Palmer-Wasilla area. The ten-cent bingle follows the standard design format of the series with the denomination prominently displayed. All denominations share the same general layout, differentiated primarily by size and stated value. The brass token has a plain edge and was struck on commercially produced planchets. The ten-cent denomination saw regular use for small transactions at the colony commissary, which stocked groceries, clothing, tools, and other necessities for the isolated settlement.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Similar survival rates to other brass denominations in the series. Approximately 100-200 pieces believed extant. Condition census topped by occasional uncirculated examples that were saved as souvenirs rather than spent.