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20 Mark Gefangenen-Lager
| Issuer | Gefangenen-Lager Chemnitz (Prisoner of War Camp, Chemnitz) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in brown and black, with a dense short-dash guilloche underprint covering the entire field. The denomination numeral "20" appears in large bold black type at all four corners, with the word "MARK" beside each. Four small Imperial German eagle vignettes are arranged symmetrically in the upper and lower central areas. A central ornamental cartouche with elaborate black scroll and foliate headpiece and tailpiece encloses a rectangular text panel bearing the redemption clause in three lines of black letterpress. The printer's imprint "Alexander Wiede Chemnitz" appears in small type at the foot of the central panel. |
| Reverse lettering | 20 MARK Der Betrag für diesen Gutschein wird bei Entlassung des Gefangenen in bar ausgezahlt, bei Überweisung in ein anderes Lager dahin überwiesen. Alexander Wiede Chemnitz |
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| Comments |
POW camp scrip issued in the opening weeks of the First World War, before any standardized system for prisoner currency existed in Germany. Each camp improvised its own solution — Chemnitz turned to a local commercial printer, Alexander Wiede, who was presumably already supplying the camp with administrative stationery. The result is a piece of functional emergency finance rather than anything designed with longevity in mind.
Chemnitz held primarily French and Belgian prisoners in this early period. Scrip at this denomination — 20 Mark — was substantial enough that it would have passed between prisoners for significant canteen transactions, not pocket change.