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Auction: CSS39 - The Numismatic Collector's Series sale
Lot: 1173

1902 4% Russian State Loan (Boxer Indemnity), group of 3 bonds for 500, 1000 and 2000 roubles and also a Russo Asiatic Bank scrip, 1910, The Russian State Loan of 1902 was for the capital sum of 181,959,000 Roubles
which equated to 393,000,000 German Reichsmarks, 231,870,000 Dutch Florins,
or 19,257,000 pounds sterling. The loan was issued by virtue of the Imperial
Ukase1 of the 1st March 1902 to realise the contribution due to Russia in
compensation for the losses incurred during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. The
loan is also known as The Russian Boxer Indemnity and was also covered by
the Edict of the Chinese Emperor dated 29th May 1901.
A consortium of Russian, German and Dutch banking and financial institutions
were involved in the administration of this loan and payment of interest against
coupons was paid from 18 June-1st July and from 19th December-1st January
at various locations. Bearer bonds were issued in the denominations detailed in
the tables above.
An interesting anomaly is the denomination of these bonds which is stated in
Reichsmarks. The Reichsmark was not formally adopted as the German currency
until 1924. (See Currency Note opposite)
The bonds were negotiable and accepted as security for Government contracts;
for deferred excise duties; and for payment of customs duties at prices to be fixed
half-yearly which would be not less than 90% of the face value of the bonds.
It is also of interest to note that Kuhlmann2 described the arrangements for the
Boxer Indemnities, allocating serial numbers 100-104 but seems to regard the
above loan as separate to those arrangements since the 1902 Russian State
Loan bonds and loan arrangements were detailed as an Appendix. The Russian
element of the Boxer Indemnity was 28.7% of a total sum of 450,000,000 Haikwan
Taels, equivalent in 1900 to the sum of 67,500,000 pounds sterling.
fine to very fine (4)

Sold for
HK$1,000