Metal tokens of the German colonists, the Falz-Fein family — issues from 1877 to 1908.
The issuing of tokens (coupons, checks, etc.) by private individuals or companies served specific economic purposes: they made it possible to pay for work partially or fully with goods from their own shops or stores.
Alexander Ivanovich Falz-Fein was a prominent representative of a well-known Russian noble family of German origin. He was born in Askania-Nova in 1859 and died in 1908 on the Black Sea coast, at the Falz-Fein family estate near Kherson.
A passionate hunter and a member of the Moscow Hunting Society named after Emperor Alexander II, Alexander Ivanovich Falz-Fein was known as a major collector who assembled a unique collection of moose, deer, and aurochs horns. In addition, he owned exceptionally rich collections of antique weapons, paintings, tapestries, manuscripts, and icons. All these one-of-a-kind collections were kept in the two-story mansion belonging to Alexander Ivanovich and his wife, the famous Odessa “House with Atlantes.”