1 Mark Oldenburger Woche

The Oldenburger Woche was a local newspaper, not a bank — its issuance of notgeld in 1922 was less unusual than it sounds. During the hyperinflationary spiral of Weimar Germany, municipalities, businesses, and private organizations all printed emergency small-denomination currency to compensate for the chronic shortage of official coinage. A newspaper publishing its own scrip was simply practical; the masthead lent enough local credibility to make the notes circulate within the city.

Printed by Ad. Essich & Co. on their home ground in Oldenburg, the note never traveled far. Designer Bacmann is otherwise unattributed in the standard notgeld literature.