Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Kaiserslautern |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Local banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Notgeld gutschein printed in dark red and cream, with a bold striped border enclosing the central text panel. The denomination "ZWANZIG MARK" is set in large Gothic blackletter type at centre, above which the issuing authority "Stadtgemeinde Kaiserslautern" appears in script, followed by "GUTSCHEIN ÜBER" in Roman capitals. A large numeral "20" underprint in red appears behind the serial number field at lower left, with the date "KAISERSLAUTERN, 10. OKTOBER 1918" and two manuscript signatures below, attributed to the Rechtsk. Bürgermeister and the Stadt-Einnehmer respectively. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Stadtgemeinde Kaiserslautern GUTSCHEIN ÜBER ZWANZIG MARK welche dem Inhaber bei Einlieferung von der Stadt-Einnehmerei bar bezahlt werden. Durch bürgermeisteramtliche Veröffentlichung in den hiesigen Zeitungen wird das Ende der Gültigkeit bekanntgegeben. KAISERSLAUTERN, 10. OKTOBER 1918. DIE STADTVERWALTUNG: RECHTSK. BÜRGERMEISTER. STADT-EINNEHMER. |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Kaiserslautern's 20 Mark Notgeld from 1918 belongs to the first serious wave of municipal emergency currency in Germany, issued as the imperial banking system buckled under wartime coin hoarding and metal requisitions. Municipal administrations were effectively forced to self-issue — there was no central coordination, no standardized redemption guarantee, and no assurance these notes would be honored beyond the issuing town's borders.
Palatinate Notgeld from this period is less commonly encountered than issues from Saxony or the Rhineland industrial centers. Whether Kaiserslautern printed locally or contracted a regional press remains unconfirmed in most catalog references.