10 Pfennigs

Friedrichstadt — the small Dutch-founded town on the Eider — issued this 10 Pfennig note as part of the municipal Notgeld wave that swept German cities and towns between 1918 and 1922. The square format was a deliberate choice by many small issuers during this period, partly to distinguish local emergency currency from Reichsbank issues, partly because square cuts reduced waste on small print runs done by local commercial printers.

At 45 x 45 mm, this is among the smallest format Notgeld pieces. Friedrichstadt's notes were produced in the political shadow of the 1920 Schleswig plebiscite, which ultimately kept the town within Germany rather than transferring it to Denmark.