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2 Pfennig Golzern; PoW Camp

Issuer Kriegsgefangenenlager Golzern (Mulde)
Year 1916
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Currency Papiermark (1914-1923)
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Reverse description Blank (uniface issue); the obverse design shows through the thin paper stock as a ghost image.
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Protection description Star hexagon pattern (Stern-Sechseck-Muster, Keller#63)
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Comments

Golzern, a small village on the Mulde river in Saxony, housed one of the many German prisoner-of-war camps that issued their own internal scrip during the First World War — a practical response to the Reich's prohibition on circulating standard coinage within camp perimeters. These camp currencies prevented prisoners from accumulating spendable money that could fund escape attempts or black-market dealings outside the wire.

Johannes Pässler of Dresden was a regional commercial printer, not a security specialist, which makes the watermark here an interesting choice — likely a cost-effective sheet stock rather than a bespoke security measure. The Campouvres series for this camp runs to at least several denominations, and the 2 Pfennig is among the lowest-value pieces, suggesting a functioning internal economy with genuine small-change needs.

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