Catalog
10 Mark Mansfeldsche Kupferschiefer bauende Gewerkschaft
| Issuer | Mansfeldsche Kupferschiefer bauende Gewerkschaft, Eisleben |
|---|---|
| Year | |
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| In circulation to | 31 May 1919 |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark teal-green on cream paper, with a pale underprint vignette of an industrial copper-mining complex — smokestacks, factory buildings, and mining headframes — extending across the full width of the note. The issuer's name in ornate Fraktur script, "Mansfeldsche Kupferschiefer bauende Gewerkschaft Eisleben", arches across the upper portion, flanked by two circular guilloche medallions bearing the numeral "10". The denomination "Zehn Mark" is rendered in large, elaborate calligraphic Fraktur at centre, with the validity clause "Gültig bis 31. Mai 1919" and the redemption obligation text inscribed below; a red serial number appears in the upper right corner. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The Mansfeldsche Kupferschiefer bauende Gewerkschaft was one of the oldest continuously operating mining enterprises in Europe — copper shale extraction in the Mansfeld district of Saxony-Anhalt dates back to the thirteenth century, and the Gewerkschaft (a form of mining cooperative under German law) formalized operations that had been running for centuries before most central banks existed. During the hyperinflation of 1922–23, hundreds of German industrial firms issued their own emergency currency — Notgeld — to pay workers when Reichsbank notes became functionally useless within days of printing.
The watermark is notable: most Notgeld of this period used plain stock. Its presence here suggests the Gewerkschaft drew on better-quality paper reserves, possibly sourced through their own industrial supply chains.