Dillkreis issued this zinc notgeld piece in 1917, when the imperial government's wartime metal requisitions had stripped municipal and district authorities of reliable coin supply. Zinc was the compromise material — despised by vending machine operators and the public alike, but available. District-level issues like this one operated in a legal grey zone; the Reich tolerated local emergency coinage out of necessity, not approval.
Dillkreis issued this zinc notgeld piece in 1917, when the imperial government's wartime metal requisitions had stripped municipal and district authorities of reliable coin supply. Zinc was the compromise material — despised by vending machine operators and the public alike, but available. District-level issues like this one operated in a legal grey zone; the Reich tolerated local emergency coinage out of necessity, not approval.