1935 Alaska RRC Bingle Gold Half Eagle

Coin Details

Auction Record

$376 MS62 03-29-2017 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1935 Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation five-dollar bingle represents the second-highest denomination in the Matanuska Colony scrip series. Designated as a "Gold Half Eagle" in catalog listings — adopting traditional American coinage terminology — this brass token carried substantial purchasing power within the colony's internal economy, equivalent to roughly a full day's credited labor for many colonists. The five-dollar denomination served an important role in larger transactions within the colony system, including purchases of farming equipment, building materials, and bulk supply orders. Given the colony's remote location and the logistical challenges of provisioning a settlement accessible primarily by railroad from Anchorage, the cooperative store maintained inventories of expensive goods that required higher-denomination scrip for efficient transactions. The Matanuska Colony project cost the federal government approximately $5 million in 1935 dollars — an enormous sum that drew persistent congressional scrutiny. The bingle scrip system was one component of the broader financial architecture designed to control costs and channel spending productively. Each denomination in the series, from the aluminum cent through the ten-dollar piece, represented a carefully calibrated element of this frontier economic experiment. The five-dollar value placed the bingle half eagle at the threshold between routine daily commerce and major purchases, making it one of the less frequently circulated denominations in the series.

Rarity Notes

Rare. Higher denominations were issued in smaller quantities and saw less frequent circulation than the lower values. Fewer than 75 examples survive. The five-dollar and ten-dollar bingles are the key rarities of the series.

Cross References

PCGS #20026