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1/2 Mark Stadtsparkasse
| Issuer | Stadtsparkasse Bielefeld |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 112 × 53 mm |
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| Obverse description | Printed in blue, yellow, green, and black, the note carries the denomination in both numeral and word form, with the figures repeated in each corner. The vertical inscription WERTBESTÄNDIG! (LASTING VALUE!) appears in bold letterpress along both side margins, flanking the central text block. The face bears detailed indexing data referencing the cost-of-living index figures for November 1923, identifying this as a gold-check instrument drawn on the Stadtsparkasse Bielefeld. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | STERNE SIND MÄCHTIGER ALS MENSCHENWILLE. STERNDEUTUNG 1923: DEUTSCHLANDS AUFSTIEG 1925/26. HOHENZOLLERN 9.3.27 EINLÖSUNG ERFOLGT VOM 16.-31.3.24, NACH WAHL DER STADTSPARKASSE BIELEFELD, IN REICHS GOLD ANLEIHE ODER IN DEN UNTER GARANTIE DER PROVINZ WESTFALEN HERAUSGEGEBENEN WESTFÄLISCHEN GOLD ANLEIHE SCHEINEN ODER IN GESETZLICHER WÄHRUNG ZUM BERLINER DURCHSCHNITTSKURSE DER DREI BÖRSENTAGE, DIE DEM BEGINN DER EINLÖSUNGSFRIST VORAUSGEHEN. LAUT BEKANNTGABE WERDEN DIE DURCH GESETZLICHE GENEHMIGUNG DES REICHSFINANZMINISTERS BEZW. SATZUNGEN HERAUSGEGEBENEN SCHEINE EINGELÖST VON DEN STÄDTISCHEN KASSEN I. BIELEFELD U. VON DER LANDESBANK I. MÜNSTER. ½ GOLD-MARK NACH DIESEM AHNUNGSVOLLEN VERMERKE, FAHREN WIR FORT IM LÖBLICHEN WERKE ✳ BIELEFELDER ZUKUNFT: EHESCHLIESSUNGEN 1914=648, 1923=800, GEBURTEN 1914=1647, 1923=1200. GOLD-MARK ½ 1923 HERR LASS' IN STÜRMEN UND GEFAHR, DEUTSCH BLEIBEN, WAS DEUTSCH IST UND WAR DEUTSCHLAND WACH' AUF! NOCH NIE WARD DEUTSCHLAND ÜBERWUNDEN, WENN ES EINIG WAR. GOLD-MARK ½ 1923 =5/42 WEHE DIR FRANKREICH UND DEINEN KINDERN. 一 POINCARES SCHICKSALSSTUNDE 1925/26 一 (Translation: STARS ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN HUMAN WILL. STAR INTERPRETATION 1923: GERMANY'S RISE 1925/26. HOHENZOLLERN 9.3.27 REDEMPTION TAKES PLACE FROM MARCH 16-31, 1924, AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CITY SAVINGS BANK OF BIELEFELD, IN REICH GOLD BOND OR IN THE WESTPHALIAN GOLD BOND NOTES ISSUED UNDER THE GUARANTEE OF THE PROVINCE OF WESTPHALIA OR IN LEGAL CURRENCY AT THE BERLIN AVERAGE RATE OF THE THREE STOCK EXCHANGE DAYS PRECEDING THE START OF THE REDEMPTION PERIOD. ACCORDING TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT, THE NOTES ISSUED WITH THE LEGAL APPROVAL OF THE REICH FINANCE MINISTER OR STATUTES WILL BE REDEEMED BY THE MUNICIPAL COFFERS IN BIELEFELD AND BY THE LANDESBANK IN MÜNSTER. ½ GOLD-MARK AFTER THIS FOREBODING NOTE, WE CONTINUE IN THE PRAISEWORTHY WORK ✳ BIELEFELD'S FUTURE: MARRIAGES 1914=648, 1923=800, BIRTHS 1914=1647, 1923=1200. GOLD-MARK ½ 1923 LORD, LET IN STORMS AND DANGER, REMAIN GERMAN WHAT IS AND WAS GERMAN GERMANY WAKE UP! GERMANY WAS NEVER OVERCOME WHEN IT WAS UNITED. GOLD-MARK ½ 1923 =5/42 DOLLAR WOE TO YOU FRANCE AND YOUR CHILDREN. 一 POINCARÉ'S HOUR OF FATE 1925/26 一) |
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| Comments |
Bielefeld's Stadtsparkasse was among hundreds of German municipal savings institutions that resorted to emergency currency — Notgeld — during the hyperinflation of 1923, when the Reichsmark collapsed so rapidly that the central bank could not supply enough physical notes to meet daily transactional demand. The half-mark denomination is an oddity of that moment: by mid-1923, fractions of a mark were economically meaningless, yet notes in this range were still being issued to cover the gap in small change while the presses elsewhere were printing millions and billions.
E. Gundlach A.G. was a Bielefeld-based commercial printer with an established relationship with local municipal issuers, which is why so many Westphalian Notgeld pieces from this period share a recognizable production quality.