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20 Mark
| Issuer | Cities of Bremerhaven, Lehe and Geestemünde (Federal state of Bremen) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Brown letterpress Notgeld note printed in Fraktur blackletter script. The numeral '20' appears at upper left and lower right within guilloche-patterned border panels, with 'zwanzig Mark' in ornate Fraktur centred over a lace-style underprint. Legal text and three municipal authority signatures occupy the lower half. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Brown letterpress reverse with an all-over scalloped guilloche underprint enclosed by a geometric lace border. A central oval cartouche carries 'Zwanzig Mark' in bold Fraktur, surmounted by the three city names in a curved legend. The serial number with prefix letter appears twice in red at upper right and lower left. |
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| Comments |
This note is a product of Germany's Notgeld system at its most administratively fragmented — three separate municipal governments, Bremerhaven, Lehe, and Geestemünde, issuing a single piece of emergency currency under joint authority, each countersigned by its own official. The arrangement reflects the acute coin shortage of the final war year, when municipalities across Germany were legally empowered to fill the gap left by hoarded metal coinage.
Printed locally by Otto Remmler in Geestemünde rather than by one of the major security printers, which was common for municipal Notgeld of this period. The three cities would eventually merge in 1924 to form Wesermünde, making this note a document of an administrative arrangement that no longer existed within six years of printing.