Frankenthal, an industrial city in the Rhenish Palatinate, issued its own emergency coinage in 1920 as Germany's postwar metal shortages and currency instability left municipalities scrambling to fill the gap in small-denomination circulation. These Notgeld issues were authorized locally rather than centrally, which accounts for the considerable variation in zinc alloy quality and striking pressure across surviving examples.
Frankenthal, an industrial city in the Rhenish Palatinate, issued its own emergency coinage in 1920 as Germany's postwar metal shortages and currency instability left municipalities scrambling to fill the gap in small-denomination circulation. These Notgeld issues were authorized locally rather than centrally, which accounts for the considerable variation in zinc alloy quality and striking pressure across surviving examples.