1935 Alaska RRC Bingle Quarter

Coin Details

Auction Record

$132 AU58 11-30-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1935 Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation twenty-five-cent bingle represents one of the middle denominations in the Matanuska Colony's internal currency system. This brass token was designed to facilitate routine commerce at the colony's cooperative store, where the quarter-denomination proved practical for everyday purchases of food, supplies, and household goods. The ARRC scrip system was devised by the federal administrators overseeing the colonization project to maintain economic control over the settlement during its formative period. Each colonist family received advances in bingle scrip credited against their future farm production, and could spend this scrip only at the ARRC-operated commissary. The system ensured that federal funds allocated to the colony remained within the settlement rather than flowing to merchants in nearby Anchorage or other Alaskan towns. This closed-loop arrangement also allowed administrators to monitor colonist spending and manage the colony's limited supply chain. The brass quarter bingle is slightly larger than the dime denomination and carries the same spartan design elements characteristic of the entire series. These tokens were produced quickly and inexpensively, reflecting their purely functional purpose rather than any numismatic or commemorative intent. The simplicity of their manufacture stands in notable contrast to the extraordinary ambition of the colonization project they served — an attempt to transplant Depression-era Midwestern farming families to subarctic Alaska and create a viable agricultural economy from virgin wilderness.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. The quarter denomination appears with roughly similar frequency to other brass values in the series. Approximately 100-175 examples survive. Choice uncirculated specimens occasionally appear at auction and command strong premiums.