10 Pfennig

Helmbrechts is a small textile town in Upper Franconia, and this Kleingeldschein was issued by the town council — the Stadtrat — to plug the chronic small-change shortage that paralyzed everyday commerce across Germany from 1916 onward. Municipal authorities at this level had no formal currency-issuing power, but central government tolerance of local Notgeld was essentially absolute by mid-war, and thousands of councils did exactly this.

The print run of over twelve million is striking for a town of this size, suggesting either regional distribution beyond Helmbrechts itself or repeated reissue under the same authorization. The official stamp was the sole authentication mechanism — no serial numbering, no watermark.