10 Heller Maria-Enzersdorf

Maria Enzersdorf is a small town south of Vienna, and like hundreds of Austrian municipalities in 1920, it issued its own emergency currency — Notgeld — to address the catastrophic coin shortage that followed the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy. These local notes filled the gap left by a central banking system in no condition to supply small-denomination coinage to rural communities.

Fritz Karl Mundt designed a number of Austrian Notgeld issues during this period, and his involvement here elevates what might otherwise be a purely functional piece. Small-denomination municipal Notgeld was typically redeemed and destroyed quickly once federal coinage returned to circulation, which is why surviving examples at any grade are underrepresented in collections relative to their original print runs.