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20 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtmagistrat Würzburg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in olive-brown tones and centres on a large vignette of a crowned allegorical female figure — representing the city of Würzburg — seated and holding a large key in her left hand and a flag-staff in her right, with a panoramic view of the city's skyline in the background. The denomination '20' appears in Gothic numerals in circular panels at upper left and upper right, while a scroll cartouche across the lower centre carries the letterpress legend 'Zwanzig Mark'. The issue date 'Würzburg, den 8. Oktober 1918', the authority 'Stadtmagistrat Würzburg', the serial number in red, and the facsimile signature of the Bürgermeister appear in the lower portion, with the printer's imprint 'H. Stürtz A.G. Würzburg' at lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in grey-green tones on a fine geometric guilloche underprint and presents a central vignette of the Marienberg Fortress as seen from the Main River, surmounted above a heraldic shield bearing the quartered arms of Würzburg, the whole framed within an ornamental scroll ribbon inscribed 'Stadtmagistrat Würzburg'. The denomination '20 Mark' is set in bold Gothic type in each upper corner. A two-line redemption notice in small letterpress text appears at the bottom of the note. |
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| Comments |
Würzburg's city magistrate issued this 20 Mark note in 1918 under the Kriegsnotgeld framework — emergency municipal currency authorized as the imperial government lost its grip on metal coinage supplies during the final year of the war. H. Stürtz AG was a well-established academic press, not a specialist security printer, which shows in the relatively modest production values typical of municipal issues from this period.
The Stadtmagistrat series was redeemable against Reichsbank notes, a guarantee that became increasingly hollow as Germany's financial position collapsed through November 1918 and into the hyperinflationary spiral that followed.