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1 Mark
| Issuer | Städtische Sparkasse Tilsit (City Savings Bank of Tilsit) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | The note is framed by a bold red and orange double border with large numeral '1' devices at each corner. The central vignette is divided into two contrasting halves by a red-and-white barber-pole border post surmounted by a bird: the left half renders a monochrome townscape vignette of Tilsit with its characteristic church tower and industrial chimneys, while the right half presents a colourful illustration of a cow standing on grass, symbolising the Memelland dairy produce unobtainable across the border. A black text band separates the upper pictorial zone from the lower coupon area, which carries the issuing authority's payment order text, the date '12. Nov. 1921', two manuscript signatures for the Magistrat, and a six-digit serial number. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is divided into three vertical panels within a plain ruled border. The left panel presents a boldly rendered moose head in ochre and black above the caption 'ELCH AM HAFF'. The wide central panel carries a schematic regional map printed in yellow and grey, plotting Tilsit's geographical position relative to Memelland, East Prussia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Baltic Sea, with the denomination '1 M' set in two white roundels at the foot of the map. The right panel shows a figure of a timber raftsman at work on the Memel river, captioned 'FLÖSSEREI AUF DER MEMEL', with the legend 'OSTPREUSSEN' spanning the lower portion of the central panel. |
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| Comments |
Tilsit's municipal savings bank was among hundreds of German local authorities that issued Notgeld during the hyperinflationary spiral of the early Weimar years. These emergency fractional notes filled a genuine gap — Reichsbank-issued small denominations had effectively vanished from circulation as commodity prices climbed and coin hoarding accelerated. The city sits on the Memel River, and by 1921 the surrounding region was politically fractured: the Memel Territory had been detached from Germany under the Treaty of Versailles just two years prior, placing Tilsit uncomfortably close to a newly administered international zone.
The Sparkasse series was a local stop-gap, never intended for long-term use. Most were redeemed quickly once stabilization notes arrived in 1923.