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1 Pfennig Frankfurt am Main; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Inspektion der Kriegsgefangenenlager im Bereich des XVIII. Armee-Korps |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
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| Value | 1 Pfennig (0.01) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Brown letterpress voucher on plain paper with a decorative guilloche underprint. The central panel bears the denomination '1 EIN PFENNIG' flanked by two octagonal cartouches each inscribed '1 Pfg.', below the issuing authority legend at top. Date 'FRANKFURT a/M. den 1. Jan. 1917' appears in the lower centre, with two manuscript signatures and a small-print legal disclaimer text at the base. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Reverse is entirely unprinted, showing plain cream-coloured paper with no design, text, or ornamental elements of any kind. |
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| Comments |
The XVIII. Armee-Korps oversaw prisoner-of-war camps across the Frankfurt region, and the camp scrip it issued in 1917 was a deliberate administrative tool — not charity. Allowing prisoners access to a parallel internal currency reduced theft, simplified canteen accounting, and, critically, ensured that any money circulating within the wire was worthless outside it. Allied prisoners could not use it to fund escapes or bribe guards with anything redeemable.
At 1 Pfennig, this is the lowest denomination in the series — useful mainly for fractional canteen transactions. Paper camp money of this period survives disproportionately well precisely because it rarely left the camp records office.