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20 Heller Petzenkirchen
| Issuer | Gemeinde Petzenkirchen (Municipality of Petzenkirchen) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Hellers (0.20) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in dark violet on salmon-red paper, the obverse carries a bold Gothic-script header reading 'Notgeld der Gemeinde Petzenkirchen' within an ornate scrollwork border. A central rectangular vignette presents a panoramic townscape view of Petzenkirchen, flanked on each side by the denomination numeral '20' set within wreath cartouches tied with ribbons and inscribed 'Heller'. The lower portion bears a three-line validity text with issuance date 'Petzenkirchen, am 25. Mai 1920' and three manuscript signatures above their respective official titles. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse, likewise printed in dark violet on salmon-red paper within a decorative ruled border, is centred on a vignette of Schloss Petzenkirchen as it appeared circa 1600, with two mounted figures flanking an ornamental foliate cartouche below the castle. The denomination '20 Heller' appears in wreath cartouches at left and right, rendered in the same ribbon-tied style as the obverse. The municipality name 'Gemeinde Petzenkirchen' arches across the top in Gothic script, with the caption 'Schloß Petzenkirchen Anno 1600' inscribed within the central composition. |
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| Comments |
Austrian Notgeld of this type emerged from a genuine practical crisis: the postwar coin shortage left rural municipalities unable to make change, and local governments were legally permitted — briefly — to issue their own emergency pfennig-denomination scrip. Petzenkirchen, a small market commune in Lower Austria, issued this 20 Heller note under that authority in 1920, the final year the practice was widely tolerated before federal consolidation made it obsolete.
Municipal Notgeld from villages of this size was printed in short runs and rarely exported to collectors, which cuts both ways on survival rates — locals saved them as curiosities, but many were also redeemed and pulped.