Catalog
1 Mark Halle P.O.W. Camp
| Issuer | Kommandantur des Offizier-Gefangenenlagers Halle a. S. |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1873-1923) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Kein öffentliches Zahlungsmittel. Ohne Kommandantur-Stempel ungültig. 1 Eine Mark Gültig nur innerhalb des Lagers, sonst ohne jeden Wert. Halle a. S., 1. Juni 1916. Kommandantur des Offizier-Gefangenenlagers. (Translation: Not legal tender. Invalid without the commandant's stamp. 1 Mark. Valid only within the camp, otherwise worthless. Halle a. S., June 1, 1916. Commandant's Office of the Officers' Prisoner-of-War Camp.) |
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| Protection type | Handstamp |
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| Comments |
Prisoner of war camp money from the First World War is inherently provisional — made to solve an immediate administrative problem and never intended to outlast the war. Halle an der Saale held officer prisoners, a distinction that mattered: under the Hague Conventions, officer POWs were entitled to pay and could not be compelled to work, so a functioning internal currency was a genuine operational necessity rather than a token gesture.
The pink cloth substrate sets this issue apart from the more common cardboard and paper camp scrip of the period. The handstamp served as the primary authentication — crude by any standard, but sufficient when the issuing authority and the circulation pool were both confined behind the same wire.