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10 Heller Rutzenham
| Issuer | Gemeinde Rutzenham (Municipality of Rutzenham) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| In circulation to | 28 February 1921 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain beige note printed in dark blue with a simple border of dotted and square ornamental elements. The heading 'Gutschein der Gemeinde Rutzenham.' is set in bold gothic type across the top, flanked by the numeral '10' at each side. Below, a block of justified gothic text sets out the legal basis and redemption period of the voucher, followed by an anti-counterfeiting warning in bold type at the foot. |
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| Signature(s) | Josef Ba. Dinger and Johann Zistmairs |
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| Comments |
Rutzenham is a small village in Upper Austria, and like hundreds of similarly minor municipalities, it issued its own emergency currency — Notgeld — during the severe coin shortage that followed the First World War. The Austrian state simply could not produce enough small-denomination coinage to meet everyday commercial demand, so the burden fell to local governments, cooperatives, and even individual businesses to fill the gap. This 10 Heller note is exactly that: a hyperlocal solution to a systemic monetary failure.
The two signatories, Josef Ba. Dinger and Johann Zistmairs, were almost certainly local officials — a mayor and a council member, or equivalent — rather than banking professionals. That informality is the point. These notes circulated among neighbors who knew each other.