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20 Korona POW Camp; Zalaegerszeg
| Issuer | K.u.K. Kriegsgefangenenlager Zalaegerszeg-Tábor |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 150 x 90 mm |
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| Obverse description | Printed in blue and black on a pale yellow-green underprint, the note carries an ornate floral and guilloche border with large numeral "20" medallions at each corner. At the centre, the denomination "Husz Korona" is set in bold letterpress within an oval cartouche, above a text panel stating the voucher's purpose, dated Zalaegerszeg, 15 August 1916. At top centre, an oval wreath medallion bears the validity restriction in Hungarian, while the lower centre presents the conjoined Imperial Austrian and Hungarian royal coats of arms with the motto ribbons "Indivisibiliter" and "Inseparabiliter", flanked by three manuscript signatures with their respective role titles. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in an identical format to the obverse but with text in German and Russian, the reverse carries the same ornate floral guilloche border with "20" corner medallions on a pale yellow-green underprint. The top centre oval wreath medallion bears the validity restriction in German, flanked by a series and number panel; the large denomination "Zwanzig Kronen" is rendered in bold Gothic script within the central cartouche, with a Russian-language line "Двадцать Коронъ" printed in blue below the main German text. The lower centre again displays the conjoined Austro-Hungarian royal coats of arms with motto ribbons, accompanied by three manuscript signatures with their German-language role titles. |
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| Comments |
Austro-Hungarian prisoner-of-war camps issued their own internal currencies to prevent real money from circulating among — and potentially funding the escape of — captives. The Zalaegerszeg camp in western Hungary held primarily Russian and later Romanian prisoners, with numbers swelling significantly after the 1916 Brusilov Offensive drove large captures along the Eastern Front. Camp scrip like this 20 Korona piece was accepted only within the wire, redeemable for canteen goods and nothing else.
Globus, a Budapest commercial printer, produced several of these camp currency series. The paper stock is often found brittle along fold lines, a direct result of wartime material shortages affecting even civilian print runs.