10 Pfennig - Dettingen/Main Gewerkschaft Gustav

Gewerkschaft Gustav was a mining operation at Dettingen am Main, and like many German industrial concerns during World War I, it resorted to privately issued zinc notgeld when imperial coinage all but vanished from daily commerce. Base metals had been commandeered for the war effort, making even zinc tokens a pragmatic stopgap for paying and making change with workers on site. Most colliery and industrial notgeld of this type circulated exclusively within the issuing company's sphere — company store, wage office, canteen — and rarely traveled far enough to accumulate meaningful wear.