The Mansfeldsche Gewerkschaft was one of Germany's oldest continuous copper-mining operations, with roots in the Mansfeld region stretching back to medieval times. By 1918, wartime metal requisitions had stripped conventional coinage from circulation entirely, forcing industrial concerns and municipalities across Germany to issue their own emergency Notgeld. This piece is part of that wave — zinc chosen not by preference but by elimination, copper and nickel having been consumed by the war machine long before the armistice.
The Mansfeldsche Gewerkschaft was one of Germany's oldest continuous copper-mining operations, with roots in the Mansfeld region stretching back to medieval times. By 1918, wartime metal requisitions had stripped conventional coinage from circulation entirely, forcing industrial concerns and municipalities across Germany to issue their own emergency Notgeld. This piece is part of that wave — zinc chosen not by preference but by elimination, copper and nickel having been consumed by the war machine long before the armistice.