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10 Pfennig
| Issuer | Bernstadt (Lower Silesia), City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gutschein der Stadt Bernstadt i/Schl. 10 Pfennig Bernstadt in Schlesien. Der Magistrat Für Einlösung haftet die Stadthauptkasse. |
| Reverse description | Central circular vignette enclosed by a broad red band inscribed with the town name, containing a detailed line-art townscape of Bernstadt in Schlesien with a prominent clock tower and surrounding buildings. The denomination "10 Pfennig" appears in bold black type at the upper left and upper right corners, set against an overall background of stylised scroll and foliate underprint patterns. |
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| Comments |
Bernstadt — now Bierutów in southwestern Poland — was one of hundreds of small German municipalities that printed their own Kleingeldersatz (small change substitute) during the acute coin shortage that followed the First World War. The Reichsbank's metal reserves had been largely consumed by the war economy, and fractional coins had effectively vanished from everyday commerce by 1918–1920, hoarded or melted. Local authorities, guilds, and even individual businesses stepped in to fill the gap.
These Notgeld issues from small Silesian towns are generally common as a type but tend to survive only in collector-preserved condition — they circulated hard and fast in a local economy before being quickly superseded.