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1/2 Mark
| Issuer | Gemeinde Schlesiengrube O.-S. (Municipality of Schlesiengrube, Upper Silesia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Mark |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Plain cream-coloured notgeld issued by the Municipality of Schlesiengrube, Upper Silesia, with an ornate letterpress-printed border composed of repeated geometric and dot motifs enclosing the entire design. The denomination numeral '1/2' with the abbreviation 'M' appears in bold blackletter type in blocked cartouches at the upper left and right, flanking the central title legend; below, the issuing authority, validity clause, place and date of issue (17 February 1917), and the authorising body 'Der Gemeinde-Vorstand' are set in diminishing blackletter type, with a circular violet official municipality stamp applied to the lower centre. |
|---|---|
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| Protection description | Circular violet municipality stamp of Gemeinde Schlesiengrube applied by hand to the obverse. |
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| Comments |
Schlesiengrube — today Kopalnia Śląsk in the Silesian coal basin — issued this Notgeld during the acute small-change shortage that gripped Germany from 1916 onward. Municipal and industrial communities throughout Upper Silesia printed their own fractional scrip when Reichsbank coinage all but vanished from circulation, hoarded by a population that understood what wartime metal requisitions meant.
The official stamp served as the primary authentication — without it, the note was simply printed paper. Many unstamped remainders from this period survived in bulk and have confused inventories ever since.