20 Korona POW Camp; Zalaegerszeg

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.