Schusters Warenhaus was one of the department store chains that issued privately circulating zinc tokens during the German notgeld period of World War I, when chronic small-denomination coin shortages forced municipalities and private businesses alike to produce their own emergency substitutes. Zinc was the material of necessity — copper and nickel had been requisitioned for the war effort by 1916, leaving commercial issuers with few alternatives.
Schusters Warenhaus was one of the department store chains that issued privately circulating zinc tokens during the German notgeld period of World War I, when chronic small-denomination coin shortages forced municipalities and private businesses alike to produce their own emergency substitutes. Zinc was the material of necessity — copper and nickel had been requisitioned for the war effort by 1916, leaving commercial issuers with few alternatives.