10 Pfennig - Weissenstadt

Weißenstadt is a small town in Upper Franconia, and its 1917 zinc notgeld issue belongs to the enormous wave of municipal emergency coinage that flooded Germany after the Imperial government requisitioned copper, nickel, and brass for war production. By mid-1917, the metal shortage had become acute enough that even minor Bavarian municipalities were authorized — and in many cases compelled — to strike their own subsidiary coinage to keep local commerce functional.

Zinc was the default fallback material, deeply unpopular with the public due to its susceptibility to corrosion. Surviving examples in clean condition are accordingly scarcer than the original mintages suggest.