Catalog
1 Mark
| Issuer | Kreissparkasse Hofgeismar |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 101.2 × 69.8 mm |
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| Obverse description | Multicolour letterpress note with a warm ochre guilloche underprint. The central vignette presents the heraldic shield of Kreis Hofgeismar — a fortified triple-towered castle in blue and white over a green and red ornamentation — flanked on either side by large red numeral '1' in ornate cartouches. The issuer's name 'Kreis Hofgeismar' is inscribed in bold red display lettering across the upper field, with the denomination 'Eine Mark' at top centre; a scroll at lower left bears the savings bank payment obligation text, and a serial number box at lower centre carries the account reference. The printer's imprint 'Gebr. Gotthelft, Cassel' appears at the lower left margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Immenhausen |
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| Comments |
Hofgeismar is a small town in northern Hesse, and its Kreissparkasse — a district savings bank — issued this 1 Mark note during the acute small-change crisis of 1922, when Reichsbank coin had been driven from circulation almost entirely by hoarding and rising metal values. Municipal and district bodies across Germany were printing their own Notgeld partly out of necessity, partly because the public demand was insatiable and the print runs were profitable.
Gebrüder Gotthelft in Cassel were among the more active regional printers servicing this Hessian notgeld wave. The DeNG reference covers four to five known varieties within this single type, suggesting multiple print runs or text variants across a relatively short issuing window.