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20 Mark
| Issuer | Kreisausschuss des Kreises Steinburg (District Committee of Steinburg) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Printed in dark brown on cream paper, the obverse carries an expressionist vignette at left of a sword thrust into the earth, its blade rising through stylized flames with a bird perched at the top holding a sprig, executed in a bold woodcut style. The denomination numeral '20' appears at upper right within a starburst cartouche alongside a circular Kreisausschuss seal bearing a Prussian eagle, with a red serial number printed to its right. A border of runic-style lettering encircles the entire note on all four sides, and a vertical column of text runs through the centre. The lower margin carries the imprint 'GEDRUCKT: J.J. AUGUSTIN IN GLÜCKSTADT' at left and 'GEZ. WENZ. AUG. HABLIK.' at right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in dark brown on cream paper in a bold Art Nouveau woodcut style. Two horizontal decorative panels at top and bottom each contain four ornamental vignettes — circular medallions with stylised leaf or flame motifs at the corners — flanking a central grid pattern formed by repeated interlocking numerals '20'. Between the two panels, the issuer name 'KREIS STEINBURG' is set in large, bold rounded Gothic lettering that occupies the full width of the note. |
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| Comments |
Steinburg's 1918 emergency issue belongs to the vast wave of German Notgeld produced as the imperial financial system buckled under wartime strain. What sets it apart is the designer: Wenzel August Hablik, the Czech-born Expressionist and utopian architect based in Itzehoe, who was simultaneously producing visionary crystalline architectural fantasies and, apparently, district banknote artwork. His involvement suggests the Kreisausschuss had access to genuine local artistic talent rather than defaulting to a commercial stock design.
J. J. Augustin in Glückstadt — a long-established scholarly and regional press — handled production, a practical choice given the printer's proximity to the issuing district.