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20 Heller Weissenkirchen
| Issuer | Marktgemeinde Weissenkirchen in der Wachau |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | A central circular vignette rendered in fine letterpress line work presents a panoramic townscape of Weissenkirchen in der Wachau, with the village church, rooftops, vineyards, and a winding road visible in the composition. The denomination '20 Heller' appears in bold Gothic blackletter numerals flanking the vignette on both sides, with the issuing authority legend 'Kassenschein der Marktgemeinde' along the upper border and 'Weissenkirchen in der Wachau' across the lower border, all within a double-ruled rectangular frame. A guarantee clause occupies the lower left, while the date '15. April 1920' and facsimile signatures of the Bürgermeister, Vizebürgermeister, and Gemeinderat appear to the lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in plain letterpress on unadorned paper and carries a four-line poem in the Styrian dialect attributed to Peter Rosegger, set in italic blackletter script above a ruled dividing line. Below the rule, a formal Gothic typeface text block states the conditions of issue, specifying a total issuance of 64,000 Kronen by the Gemeinde Weissenkirchen in der Wachau, the non-interest-bearing nature of the notes, their acceptance in payment until 30 November 1920, and their redemption in lawful currency between 15 and 30 November 1920. The counterfeiting warning 'Die Nachahmung wird gesetzlich bestraft.' closes the text at the foot of the note. |
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Weissenkirchen in der Wachau is a small wine-producing market town on the Danube in Lower Austria. This 20 Heller note is a Notgeld issue — emergency municipal scrip produced to address the acute small-change shortage that plagued Austria in the years immediately following the collapse of the Habsburg empire. The central government could not produce coins fast enough to meet demand, so thousands of municipalities printed their own temporary currency, typically in low Heller denominations.
The JPR1158 series encompasses multiple denominations from this commune. Survival rates vary considerably; rural Wachau issues were often retained as collector curiosities rather than redeemed, which paradoxically means some survive in better condition than their urban equivalents.