Wächtersbacher Steingutfabrik, the pottery manufacturer operating out of Schlierbach in Hesse, issued zinc notgeld tokens during the acute small-change shortages of the First World War, when the imperial government's requisitioning of copper and nickel stripped circulation of its minor coinage almost overnight. Factory-issued pfennig pieces like this one were a purely internal solution — wages paid partly in scrip redeemable only at the company store, tying workers' purchasing power directly to their employer.
Wächtersbacher Steingutfabrik, the pottery manufacturer operating out of Schlierbach in Hesse, issued zinc notgeld tokens during the acute small-change shortages of the First World War, when the imperial government's requisitioning of copper and nickel stripped circulation of its minor coinage almost overnight. Factory-issued pfennig pieces like this one were a purely internal solution — wages paid partly in scrip redeemable only at the company store, tying workers' purchasing power directly to their employer.