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20 Heller Hart bei Amstetten POW Camp
| Issuer | Kriegsgefangenenlager Hart bei Amstetten (Officer Department) |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Hellers (0.20) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 20 Heller 20 Heller Zahlmarke der Offiziersabteilung des Kriegsgefangenenlagers Hart bei Amstetten. (Translation: Payment stamp of the officer department of prisoner of war camp Hart near Amstetten) |
| Reverse description | Unprinted plain white reverse, showing only a faint blind impression of the obverse letterpress text visible through the thin paper stock. |
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| Comments |
Hart bei Amstetten was one of the Austro-Hungarian officer prisoner-of-war camps, and its internal scrip was a practical solution to a genuine administrative problem: Allied officers were entitled under the Hague Convention to receive pay, but letting them hold Austro-Hungarian crown currency created obvious security concerns around escape funding. Camp-issued Lagergeld circulated only within the wire and was redeemable at the camp canteen.
Officer camps ran on different rules than those for enlisted men — the Hague obligations were taken seriously enough that the scrip denominations tracked real purchasing power inside the camp economy. The 20 Heller piece sat at a useful everyday value for canteen purchases.