Catalog
100 Mark Karlsruhe PoW Camp
| Issuer | Inspektion der Kriegs-Gefangenenlager des 14. Armeekorps, Karlsruhe |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Kein öffentliches Zahlungsmittel 100 Hundert Mark Gültig nur innerhalb des Lagers, sonst ohne jeden Wert. Karlsruhe i. B., 1. Oktober 1915. Inspektion der Kriegs-Gefangenenlager des 14. Armeekorps -:- Abrechnungsstelle Gesetzlich geschützt. (Translation: Not a public means of payment. One hundred mark. Valid only within the camp, otherwise without any value. Karlsruhe in Baden, October 1, 1915. Inspection of the Prisoner-of-War Camps of the 14th Army Corps. Settlement Office. Legally protected.) |
| Reverse description | The reverse is otherwise plain yellow cloth, bearing a single rectangular framed handstamp applied in mirror image at centre, reading 'OFFIZIER-GEFANGENENLAGER HEIDELBERG', indicating the voucher was assigned for use at the Heidelberg Officer Prisoner-of-War Camp. |
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| Comments |
Prisoner-of-war camp money issued under the authority of the Inspectorate of the 14th Army Corps covers a specific and often overlooked category of WWI material. The 14th Army Corps was headquartered in Karlsruhe, and its inspectorate administered camps across the Baden region — this note circulated exclusively within those compounds, preventing prisoners from accumulating Reichsmark currency that could fund escape attempts or be smuggled out.
The yellow cloth substrate is the distinguishing feature of the series. Fabric-based camp money was harder to counterfeit than paper and immediately identifiable as non-negotiable outside the wire.