1935 Alaska RRC Bingle Dollar

Coin Details

Auction Record

$472 MS60 09-11-2021 eBay

Description

The 1935 Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation one-dollar bingle is the largest commonly encountered denomination in the Matanuska Colony scrip series, serving as the primary workhorse token for substantial purchases within the settlement's closed economy. The dollar denomination saw heavy use for weekly grocery orders, clothing purchases, and other significant transactions at the ARRC cooperative store. The colony's cooperative store in Palmer served as the commercial heart of the settlement, stocking everything from canned goods and flour to work boots and farming implements. Colonist families typically received scrip advances of $50 to $100 per month against their future agricultural production, and the one-dollar bingle was the most practical denomination for managing these allowances. The store operated as both retail outlet and social gathering point, and the exchange of bingle tokens across its counters became a defining ritual of colony life during 1935 and 1936. By 1937, the ARRC began transitioning the colony away from the scrip system as farms began producing marketable crops and the settlement developed connections to the broader Alaskan economy. The bingles were gradually withdrawn from circulation, though no formal redemption program was implemented. Many surviving examples were retained by colonists and their descendants as mementos of the pioneering experience, contributing to the relatively stable survival rate across denominations. The brass dollar bingle remains a tangible artifact of one of the most ambitious and unusual social experiments of the Depression era.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. The dollar denomination may survive in slightly greater numbers than the smaller values due to its perceived significance as a keepsake. Approximately 100-200 examples extant. Higher-grade examples with original brass luster are notably scarce.