2 Pfennig Golzern; PoW Camp

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.