1 Pfennig Frankfurt am Main; PoW Camp

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.