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| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Wels (Municipality of Wels) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Blue letterpress printing on cream paper. The upper portion carries a line-engraved vignette of Schloß Pollheim, a medieval manor rendered in fine detail with trees and a courtyard in the foreground, captioned 'Schloß Pollheim'; the municipal coat of arms of Wels, within a crowned shield, is printed to the right of the vignette. Below, the denomination '20 Heller 20' appears in large interlocking decorative numerals and script lettering, with 'Stadtgemeinde Wels' in Gothic script beneath. |
| Reverse lettering | Schloß Pollheim 20 Heller 20 Stadtgemeinde Wels |
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| Comments |
Wels notgeld from this period belongs to the vast wave of Austrian municipal emergency currency issued when the postwar collapse of the krone left ordinary commerce without usable small change. The 20 Heller denomination was the workhorse of local transactions — bread, tram fares, minor market purchases — and Wels, as Upper Austria's second city and a significant rail junction, would have moved quantities of these through daily use.
Carl Richter's signature as issuing authority reflects municipal rather than banking control, typical of how Austrian towns administered their own notgeld programs in 1920 before the national government eventually forced their withdrawal.