10 Pfennig - Schalksmühle KAISER and C°

Schalksmühle, a small industrial town in the Sauerland region of Westphalia, saw numerous local firms issue notgeld coinage during the material shortages of World War I and its aftermath. Kaiser & Co. was among the smaller commercial issuers — their zinc pieces circulated as internal scrip or within a limited local merchant network, a common arrangement when Reichsbank coin disappeared into hoarding and metal drives. Zinc was the material of necessity, not preference; copper and nickel had been requisitioned for the war effort well before most of these municipal and private issues were authorized.