The exhibition of the Ulyanovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore presents token coins in denominations of 25 and 50 kopecks from the settlement of Staraya Zinovyevka of the Karsun Uyezd, Simbirsk Governorate.
These token coins were donated to the museum in 1978. 25 kopecks are shaped like a 16-petal rosette, 50 kopecks are rectangular with a figured edge. They are not mentioned in the well-known catalog of metal scrips of Anatoly Vulfovich Tunkel. However, the catalog lists 30-kopeck tokens of the Staraya Zinovyevka estate. They were square with a notched edge.
The front side features an abbreviated inscription in three lines: “Staraya Zinovyevka estate named after Countess A.F. Tolstaya”. There is a typo in the Russian text — one of the letters is missing.
Countess Alexandra Fyodorovna Tolstaya became the owner of the Staraya Zinovyevka estate after the death of her first husband, Pyotr Fyodorovich Durasov. She was renowned for her progressive views and practicality. The estate had a stud farm for trotting breeds, a dairy farm, a steam mill and brick and lime factories on its territory. Alexandra Fyodorovna had geological surveys conducted on her lands to determine whether there were underground sources of mineral water.
Metal legal tenders, issued by individuals and replacing small change, were called tokens in English-speaking countries, jetons in France, and stamps or bonds in Russia. At the beginning of the 20th century, private paper bonds became widespread in Russia, because they were easier to manufacture. In pre-revolutionary Russia, tokens, stamps or bonds were issued by individuals and organizations and were not intended for wide circulation. Although the use of private currencies was prohibited by law, they still became relatively widespread. One of the reasons for that was the lack of small change during bouts of inflation. Another significant reason for the emergence of private currencies was the intention of the owners of trading establishments and various enterprises to increase their profits. For example, a client who received change in the form of private bonds or stamps was forced to come to the establishment again to spend them, since they were not accepted anywhere else. Factory owners organized various kinds of consumer societies and cooperative partnerships at their enterprises with a wide network of shops and stores, which issued the bonds. Workers and employees who received part of their wages in such bonds had to “exchange” them in shops owned by the companies.
