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10 Pfennig - Durlach Maschinenfabrik Gritzner A.G.
| Issuer | Maschinenfabrik Gritzner A.G. |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Octagonal zinc notgeld token with a plain field at center bearing the large numeral '10' in bold relief, framed by a beaded inner border. The circular legend 'MASCHINENFABRIK GRITZNER A.G.' runs along the periphery between two beaded borders, with a five-pointed star serving as a separator at the base. The design is entirely typographic, with no pictorial motifs, reflecting the utilitarian character of wartime emergency small change. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Octagonal reverse mirroring the obverse format, with the large numeral '10' prominently displayed in the plain central field, enclosed within a beaded inner border. The circular legend 'KLEINGELDERSATZMARKE' arcs around the upper periphery between two beaded borders, identifying the piece as a small-change substitute token. Three five-pointed stars serve as separators in the lower portion of the legend, emphasizing the token's emergency monetary function. |
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| Additional information |
Gritzner, based in Durlach (now part of Karlsruhe), was primarily a sewing machine manufacturer that pivoted heavily to war production during WWI. Like hundreds of German industrial firms in 1918, it issued its own notgeld coinage as the imperial monetary system buckled under the weight of wartime metal shortages and hoarding. Zinc was the material of last resort — iron and aluminum having already been exhausted in earlier emergency issues. Gritzner's postwar sewing machine business recovered sufficiently that the firm survived into the 1930s before being absorbed by larger industrial combines.