2 Mark Hammerstein; PoW Camp

Hammerstein, located in Pomerania (present-day Czarne, Poland), held Allied prisoners — predominantly French and Russian — during the First World War. Camp-issued scrip like this 2 Mark piece circulated exclusively within the wire, allowing prisoners to purchase goods at the canteen without guards handling Reichsmark currency. The system was as much about control as convenience.

Campbell 3080 places this within a documented series, though camp scrip from this period survives erratically — paper quality was poor, notes were discarded at repatriation, and few prisoners had reason to preserve them.