10 Heller Wachau - Mitter Arnsdorf)

One of hundreds of Austrian Notgeld issues produced in the chaotic years following the collapse of the Habsburg empire, this Heller note was authorized by the Marktgemeinde Spitz an der Donau to address a near-total absence of small change in local circulation. The Imperial and Royal coinage system had effectively disintegrated, and municipal authorities across Lower Austria were left to print their own emergency money or watch commerce grind to a halt.

What distinguishes the Wachau Notgeld series from most provincial Austrian emergency issues is the deliberate artistic ambition behind it. Professor Eduard Tomschik of Krems was not a jobbing printer's hack — he brought genuine graphic sensibility to what were, functionally, scrip notes for a rural wine-growing district. Engraver Eduard Ziegor's execution is correspondingly fine for the format.

The Jaksch/Pick classification suffix "IId" indicates a specific paper variant within the series.