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 | Magistrat der Stadt Pößneck |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| 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 | 1 February 1919 |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Brown-toned Notgeld gutschein printed on plain paper with an overall floral guilloche underprint covering the entire field. The denomination numeral "20" appears in two large dark circular cartouches at left and right, flanking a central oval guilloche vignette bearing the Gothic-script legend "Zwanzig Mark"; a small embossed dry seal (Trockenstempel) of the town of Pößneck is applied at centre below. The title "Gutschein" is set in large decorative Gothic type across the top, with the validity inscription "Gültig bis 1. Febr. 1919" repeated at upper left and upper right; the issuing authority "Pößneck" appears in large Gothic script at the base, with manuscript signatures of the Magistrat and Gemeinderat representatives at lower left and lower right respectively. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Embossed dry seal (Trockenstempel) of the municipality of Pößneck applied to the obverse; validity conditional on the presence of both the dry seal and a hand-stamped or printed serial number as stated on the reverse |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Pößneck is a small industrial town in Thuringia, and like hundreds of German municipalities it briefly became its own monetary authority during the hyperinflation emergency of 1923. These Magistrat-issued Notgeld notes were a stopgap — the Reichsbank simply could not print and distribute currency fast enough to keep pace with collapsing purchasing power, so local governments, businesses, and even private firms stepped in to fill the wage-payment gap.
The dry seal was the municipality's primary authentication device, applied individually to each note. Serial numbering was equally ad hoc — production runs varied widely and records were poorly kept, making precise census figures for most Thuringian municipal issues impossible today.