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20 Heller Litschau
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Litschau |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries the issuer's title 'Stadtgemeinde Litschau' in bold Gothic script across the top, flanked on either side by the denomination numeral '20' within decorative borders formed by a chain of ornamental devices. A central vignette presents a fine pen-and-ink style illustration of a historic town gate or castle ruin, rendered with architectural detail and surrounding foliage. Text panels to the left and right of the vignette state the liability guarantee of the municipality and the redemption period respectively, with three manuscript signatures of the Bürgermeister, Vizebürgermeister, and Kassier appearing to the lower right, and the issue date '1. Juni 1920' to the lower left. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is set on a plain light ground bearing a faint underprint of the denomination numerals as a watermark-style background element. The text is printed entirely in Gothic Fraktur script and identifies the note as a 'Kassenschein der Stadtgemeinde Litschau, N. Ö.' with the denomination 'Zwanzig Heller' in a larger display typeface. Anti-counterfeiting warnings occupy the centre, followed by the place and date of issue; the printer's imprint 'M. SALZER IN WIEN.' appears in small capitals at the foot. |
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| Comments |
Litschau is the northernmost town in Austria, sitting hard against the Bohemian border in the Waldviertel — a geographic footnote that became administratively relevant during the post-WWI currency chaos, when municipal authorities across the former Habsburg lands issued their own Notgeld to compensate for the catastrophic shortage of small-denomination coinage. This 20 Heller note is one such emergency issue, authorized by the Stadtgemeinde rather than any banking institution.
M. Salzer was a well-established Viennese printing house responsible for a significant volume of Austrian Notgeld output in this period. The Jaksc catalogue reference JPR0558-20 places this squarely within the documented Litschau series.