1 Mark - Schwarzenbach an der Saale

Schwarzenbach an der Saale is a small textile-manufacturing town in northern Bavaria, and like hundreds of German municipalities in 1917, it issued notgeld coinage as the imperial war economy stripped copper and nickel from civilian circulation. Iron was the compulsory substitute. These local iron pieces circulated in tight geographic loops — accepted at specific merchants or employers — and were frequently hoarded the moment the issuing authority showed any sign of financial instability, which is partly why so many survive in respectable condition.