Catalog
10 Mark Golzern; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Kriegsgefangenenlager Golzern (Mulde) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress text on a green guilloche underprint, with the denomination numeral '10' repeated in each corner within a decorative border. The camp name 'Kriegsgefangenenlager Golzern (Mulde)' is set in bold at the top, above a text body stating the voucher conditions, with the face value 'ZEHN MARK' in large bold type at centre. Two manuscript signatures appear at the lower left and lower right, below the titles 'Verpflegungsoffizier / Oberleutnant' and 'Kommandant / Oberst' respectively, with a circular violet official handstamp applied over the right signature area; the printer's imprint 'Johannes Pässler, Dresden' is at the foot. |
|---|---|
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| Protection description | Circular violet official handstamp of the Kriegsgefangenenlager Golzern (Mulde) applied over the Kommandant signature area on the obverse. |
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| Comments |
Golzern was a prisoner-of-war camp established along the Mulde River in Saxony, and like hundreds of similar German installations during the First World War, it issued its own internal currency to control purchasing within the camp economy. These Lagergeld notes circulated exclusively among prisoners — Allied soldiers, primarily — and were not redeemable outside the wire. The Johannes Pässler printing house in Dresden handled production for several Saxon camp issues during this period, working from relatively simple typeset designs rather than engraved plates.
The handstamp is the only meaningful security feature, applied locally at the camp rather than at the press. Forgery within camp populations was a documented concern, which is why most Lagergeld carried some form of countersignature or stamp that the printer itself could not replicate.