Sangerhausen's municipal coinage emerged from the same supply crisis that forced hundreds of German cities to strike their own Kleingeld during 1916–17, when the imperial government's requisitioning of copper and nickel for munitions gutted the small-change supply. Zinc was the fallback — cheap, available, and deeply unpopular with the public, who found it corroded quickly in pocket wear. Most pieces from this wave of Notgeld were hoarded or discarded rather than returned to issuing authorities, which ironically preserved a substantial number in collectible condition.
Sangerhausen's municipal coinage emerged from the same supply crisis that forced hundreds of German cities to strike their own Kleingeld during 1916–17, when the imperial government's requisitioning of copper and nickel for munitions gutted the small-change supply. Zinc was the fallback — cheap, available, and deeply unpopular with the public, who found it corroded quickly in pocket wear. Most pieces from this wave of Notgeld were hoarded or discarded rather than returned to issuing authorities, which ironically preserved a substantial number in collectible condition.