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20 Mark Lübeckische Staatskasse
| Issuer | Stadtkasse Lübeck |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Brown-toned Kassenschein on plain paper with a decorative guilloche border incorporating interlaced corner ornaments and lateral panels inscribed ZWANZIG MARK. A central underprint of draped curtain vignettes flanks the large Gothic script denomination Zwanzig Mark, with numeral 20 at each side. The heading Kassenschein der Stadtkasse in Lübeck appears at the top, accompanied by a serial number at upper right and lower left; a circular embossed seal of Lübeck is applied at lower centre. Below the denomination, validity and issue inscriptions read Gültig bis 1. Februar 1919 and Lübeck, den 1. November 1918, with two manuscript signatures to the right under the caption Stadtkasse, and the printer imprint H G RAHTGENS LUBECK at the foot. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in brown on plain paper and carries a single large guilloche rosette composed of multiple concentric wavy-line engine-turned rings radiating from a central oval, within which the numeral 20 is reserved in white against the lathe-work ground. Four smaller satellite rosettes of similar engine-turned construction are positioned at the cardinal points of the central motif, the entire composition filling the note face without additional inscriptions. |
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| Comments |
Lübeck's Stadtkasse issued this 20 Mark note under the emergency currency provisions that spread rapidly through German municipal administrations during 1918, as the Reichsbank struggled to keep denominations in circulation during the final year of the war. The H. G. Rahtgens imprint confirms local production — Lübeck's own printing trade handling the city's own paper obligations, which was common practice among the Hanseatic municipalities.
The embossed seal was the primary authenticity device, a low-technology but legally recognized method for a city treasury operating without access to sophisticated security printing infrastructure. Lübeck retained its formal status as a Free and Hanseatic City, and that municipal pride is embedded in the issuing authority's name — Stadtkasse, not a regional or national proxy.