10 Pfennig - Montabaur

Montabaur's zinc notgeld issues emerged from the acute metal shortages that paralyzed German municipal finances during and after World War I, when copper and nickel had long since been requisitioned for war production. The city, a small administrative center in the Westerwald, issued these pieces under the emergency coinage provisions that briefly allowed municipalities to function as de facto mints. Zinc was the default fallback — cheap, available, and deeply unpopular with the public, who correctly anticipated its corrosion problems.