Hermann Haas was a Trier-based merchant who issued zinc notgeld during the acute coin shortages of World War I, when the German imperial government's hoarding of copper and nickel for munitions production effectively stripped small-denomination coinage from everyday commerce. Municipal and private emergency money of this type filled the gap locally, redeemable only at the issuer's premises — making survival rates dependent almost entirely on whether the issuing business remained solvent long enough to redeem them.
The Menzel reference numbers suggest two catalogued die varieties for this piece.
Hermann Haas was a Trier-based merchant who issued zinc notgeld during the acute coin shortages of World War I, when the German imperial government's hoarding of copper and nickel for munitions production effectively stripped small-denomination coinage from everyday commerce. Municipal and private emergency money of this type filled the gap locally, redeemable only at the issuer's premises — making survival rates dependent almost entirely on whether the issuing business remained solvent long enough to redeem them.
The Menzel reference numbers suggest two catalogued die varieties for this piece.