Catalog
2 Mark Darlehenskassenschein - blue seal
| Issuer | Reichsschuldenverwaltung (Imperial Debt Administration) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
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| Value | 2 Mark |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Darlehenskassenschein Zwei Mark. 2 M 2 M Berlin, den 12. August 1914 Reichsschuldenverwaltung Wer Darlehenskassenscheine nachmacht oder verfälscht oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter zwei Jahren bestraft. (Translation: Loan certificate Two Marks. 2 M 2 M Berlin, August 12, 1914 Imperial Debt Administration Anyone who counterfeits or falsifies loan certificates or procures counterfeit or falsified loan certificates and puts them into circulation will be punished with imprisonment for not less than two years.) |
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| Protection description | Cross flowers |
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| Comments |
The Darlehenskassenscheine — literally "loan treasury notes" — were emergency small-denomination currency introduced by Germany in August 1914, within days of the war declaration, specifically to relieve pressure on coin supplies and free up silver and nickel for military use. The Reichsschuldenverwaltung issued them through the Darlehenskassen, a network of state loan offices, rather than through the Reichsbank, a deliberate administrative separation intended to keep the inflationary financing off the central bank's books.
Pick 55 carries a blue treasury seal, distinguishing it from the red-sealed P#54 of the same denomination and year. The difference is minor in mechanical terms but matters for collectors — the blue variant is the scarcer of the two.