Arzberg issued this iron notgeld piece in 1917 as municipal coinage shortages bit hard across Germany — the demands of war production had stripped copper and nickel from circulation almost entirely, forcing hundreds of towns to authorize their own emergency issues. Arzberg, a porcelain-manufacturing town in Upper Franconia, was among the smaller municipalities compelled to take that step.
The Funck and Menzel references each assign slightly different catalog numbers to variants within this type, suggesting minor die or edge differences among surviving examples.
Arzberg issued this iron notgeld piece in 1917 as municipal coinage shortages bit hard across Germany — the demands of war production had stripped copper and nickel from circulation almost entirely, forcing hundreds of towns to authorize their own emergency issues. Arzberg, a porcelain-manufacturing town in Upper Franconia, was among the smaller municipalities compelled to take that step.
The Funck and Menzel references each assign slightly different catalog numbers to variants within this type, suggesting minor die or edge differences among surviving examples.