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| Issuer | City of Gera (Thuringia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Pink and black letterpress Notgeld note with an ornate Fraktur-script vignette at centre bearing the denomination 'Zehn Pfennig' over the issuing authority text 'Gutschein der Stadt Gera'. A serial number appears at the top, while the lower portion carries the title 'Der Oberbürgermeister' above a manuscript facsimile signature, with a circular town seal blind-stamped to the left and the numeral '10' in a decorative cartouche at lower right. The issue date 'Ausgegeben im Jahre 1920' is printed along the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | № 351184 Gutschein der Stadt Gera Zehn Pfennig Der Oberbürgermeister Ausgegeben im Jahre 1920. |
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| Comments |
Gera's municipal notgeld issues of 1920 belong to the first wave of German emergency money — driven not by hyperinflation, which came later, but by a chronic shortage of small-denomination Reichsbank coinage that had been hoarded or melted since the war years. Cities and towns across Thuringia printed their own fractional notes because there was simply nothing else to make change with.
The blind stamp — an embossed seal applied without ink — was a low-cost authentication measure favored by smaller issuers who lacked access to more sophisticated security printing. It deterred casual forgery without requiring specialized equipment.