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20 Mark Köln; Officer PoW Camp
| Issuer | Offizier-Gefangenenlager Köln-Rh. (Officer Prisoner of War Camp Cologne) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Black letterpress text on a yellow guilloche underprint, with the denomination numeral '20' in each corner within ornamental rosettes and vertical wave-pattern guilloche bands along both lateral margins. The field is occupied entirely by three blocks of regulatory text in German, separated by horizontal rules, setting out the conditions of validity and redemption for the camp scrip. |
| Reverse lettering | 20 Dieses Lagergeld gilt nur als Zahlungsmittel innerhalb des Gefangenenlagers. Der Betrag für diesen Gutschein wird bei Entlassung des Gefangenen in bar ausgezahlt, bei Überweisung in ein anderes Lager dahin überwiesen. Scheine, bei denen die Nummer ganz oder teilweise fehlt, werden nicht eingelöst. (Translation: This camp money is only valid as a means of payment within the prisoner-of-war camp. The amount for this voucher will be paid out in cash upon the prisoner's release, or transferred there if they are moved to another camp. Notes on which the number is completely or partially missing will not be redeemed.) |
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| Comments |
Köln-Rh. was one of several officer-grade PoW camps operating in Germany during the final year of the war, and internal camp scrip like this served a specific administrative function: officers under the 1907 Hague Convention could not be compelled to work, which meant they had leisure time, access to canteen facilities, and a need for a controlled internal currency that could not be spent outside the wire. The DuMont Schauberg press — a long-established Cologne newspaper and printing house — was a logical local contractor for such work.
1918 issues from officer camps are notably scarcer than enlisted camp currency; fewer were printed, and repatriation in late 1918 and 1919 left little incentive to preserve them.