Montabaur's Eisengiesserei Volkmann was an iron foundry operating in the Westerwald region, and like hundreds of small German industrial firms during the First World War, it resorted to privately issued zinc tokens when official small change disappeared entirely from circulation — hoarded by a public that had already learned not to trust paper. These Werksgeld issues were typically redeemable only at the company canteen or store, binding workers' purchasing power tightly to the employer.
Montabaur's Eisengiesserei Volkmann was an iron foundry operating in the Westerwald region, and like hundreds of small German industrial firms during the First World War, it resorted to privately issued zinc tokens when official small change disappeared entirely from circulation — hoarded by a public that had already learned not to trust paper. These Werksgeld issues were typically redeemable only at the company canteen or store, binding workers' purchasing power tightly to the employer.