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| Issuer | Markt Berchtesgaden (Market Town of Berchtesgaden) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Multicolour Notgeld issue printed in yellow, green, red and black, with an elaborate geometric border incorporating the Bavarian lozenge (Rauten) pattern in the four corners. The central oval vignette bears the denomination numeral '1' in yellow with the word 'Mark' in bold Gothic (Fraktur) script below, surrounded by zigzag guilloche ornaments in red and green. The issuer's name 'MARKT BERCHTESGADEN' and the voucher legend 'Gutschein über' appear in the upper portion of the central field, with the issue date '13. Aug. 1920' at the top and a serial number printed on a red-striped panel below the denomination; two facsimile signatures appear at the foot of the central design. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | MARKT BERCHTESGADEN Gutschein über 1 Mark 13. Aug. 1920 rechtskundig. 1. Bürgerm. |
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| Comments |
Berchtesgaden's 1920 Notgeld issue belongs to the vast wave of municipal emergency money that flooded Germany following the coin shortages of World War I and the chaotic early Weimar years. Market towns, parishes, even individual businesses issued their own fractional notes during this period — not from any formal monetary authority but out of sheer transactional necessity, with local councils approving the designs and accepting full liability.
Berchtesgaden's issues were also collected as tourist souvenirs almost from the moment of printing, which complicates any assessment of genuine circulation. Many survived in near-pristine condition precisely because they were pocketed by visitors rather than spent.