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20 Heller Losenstein
| Issuer | Gemeinde Losenstein (Municipality of Losenstein) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Currency | Krone (1918-1921) |
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| Obverse description | Brown letterpress-printed notgeld on cream paper, framed by a fine guilloche border. A central woodcut-style vignette portrays a multi-storey chalet or municipal building set among trees, flanked at lower left and lower right by large bold denomination numerals '20'. Two blocks of German text in Gothic script at the upper left and upper right carry the issuing authority's declaration and redemption terms, with the printer's imprint 'E. Prietzel, Steyr' along the lower margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Cream-toned reverse with a dotted border enclosing a decorative guilloche underprint at centre. The heading 'Gutschein der Gemeinde Losenstein.' is set in bold Gothic script at the top, flanked by two circular medallions each bearing the numeral '20', with the validity date 'Gültig bis 31. Dezember 1920.' and the denomination in large Fraktur calligraphy 'Zwanzig Heller' below. A three-line legal guarantee text in smaller Gothic type occupies the lower portion, concluding with the facsimile manuscript signature of Bürgermeister Jos. Schörkhuber. |
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| Comments |
Losenstein is a small market commune on the Enns river in Upper Austria, and this 20 Heller note is a product of the Notgeld emergency that followed Austria's collapse after the First World War. The national currency system was in disarray, coins had disappeared from circulation through hoarding and melting, and hundreds of municipalities — including minor ones like Losenstein — were authorized to issue their own small-denomination paper to keep local trade moving.
E. Prietzel in nearby Steyr handled the printing, a logical choice given the town's proximity. Bürgermeister Jos. Schörkhuber's signature appears as the authorizing official — a detail that underscores how thoroughly local these instruments were.