Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
10 Pfennig Merseburg; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Mannschaftsgefangenenlager Merseburg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Olive-green camp currency voucher with guilloche underprint and ornate border. Numeral '10 Pfg.' in a rosette medallion at left, with 'ZEHN PFENNIG' in bold letterpress at centre. Issue date and commandant's manuscript signature appear below, with a three-line disclaimer text at foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Entirely unprinted, plain cream paper stock with no text, vignette, or ornamental elements. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Mannschaftsgefangenenlager Merseburg was an enlisted men's prisoner-of-war camp — the "Mannschafts" designation specifically excluded officer prisoners, who by Hague Convention rules were held separately and under markedly different conditions. Camp scrip of this type was a German military administrative solution to a practical problem: preventing PoWs from accumulating Reichsmark currency that could fund escape attempts or be smuggled out.
The 1918 date places this squarely in the final year of the war, when German camp administrations were under severe strain and internal camp economies were simultaneously at their most developed and most precarious. Paper issues from this period were often printed locally in very small runs, which accounts for the relative scarcity of Merseburg material compared to larger Lager systems.