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2 Mark Gefangenenlager
| Issuer | Gefangenenlager Hammerstein (Prisoner of War Camp, Hammerstein, West Prussia) |
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| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Marks |
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| Obverse description | Printed entirely in red on cream paper, the note is laid out in a symmetrical typographic design with no figurative vignette. The centre panel carries the denomination inscription 'Zwei Mark' in bold letterpress within an oval guilloche surround, flanked on each side by two stacked circular rosettes bearing the numeral '2' in ornate script. A curved banner at the top bears the legend 'GEFANGENENLAGER' and a lower curved panel reads 'HAMMERSTEIN', with the restrictive legend 'NUR GEFANGENENGELD' set in smaller type at the foot. The wavy-line guilloche underprint fills the entire field, lending a fine textile-like texture to the surface. |
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| Reverse lettering | GEFANGENENLAGER Zwei Mark HAMMERSTEIN NUR GEFANGENENGELD |
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| Comments |
Hammerstein — now Czarne, Poland — housed Russian prisoners during the First World War, and like dozens of German POW camps, it issued its own internal scrip to prevent detainees from accumulating currency usable outside the wire. These camp marks circulated only within the compound and were theoretically redeemable at the canteen. In practice, redemption at war's end was chaotic, and most surviving examples were simply pocketed by departing prisoners or camp staff rather than exchanged.
Gefangenenlager issues are notoriously unattributed in contemporary records — denomination and camp name are often the only reliable data points a collector gets.