Speyer's 1917 zinc notgeld issue belongs to the first wave of municipally authorized emergency coinage, produced after the Imperial German government began withdrawing copper and nickel coinage from circulation for war industry use. Zinc was allocated as the acceptable substitute, though its workability was poor and many municipal strikes show uneven metal flow as a result. Speyer, as a small Rhenish city, had limited minting infrastructure and contracted production out — the flan quality on these pieces reflects that.
Speyer's 1917 zinc notgeld issue belongs to the first wave of municipally authorized emergency coinage, produced after the Imperial German government began withdrawing copper and nickel coinage from circulation for war industry use. Zinc was allocated as the acceptable substitute, though its workability was poor and many municipal strikes show uneven metal flow as a result. Speyer, as a small Rhenish city, had limited minting infrastructure and contracted production out — the flan quality on these pieces reflects that.