10 Mark Königstein an der Elbe; PoW Camp

Königstein fortress, perched on a sandstone plateau above the Elbe in Saxony, functioned as an officer prisoner-of-war camp during the First World War — a role befitting a site that had previously held state prisoners under the Saxon kings. Camp scrip of this type was a practical necessity: Allied officers required a medium of exchange for canteen purchases that could not be spent or easily converted outside the wire. Dondorf & Naumann, better known for their playing card and securities printing, supplied the technical quality the camp administration wanted, including a watermarked paper stock that discouraged forgery by fellow inmates.