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20 Mark Sparkasse
| Issuer | Städtische Sparkasse zu Wilster |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Mark |
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| Obverse description | Blue-toned note with a teal guilloche underprint throughout. The Wilster municipal coat of arms — a crenellated tower above a fish on waves — occupies the upper left, set within a rectangular vignette. The denomination is rendered in large decorative blackletter script reading 'Zwanzig Mark' at centre, with the numeral '20' in a separate panel to the upper right. Below, the issuer name and date are set in serif type, followed by three manuscript signatures of the board ('Der Vorstand') and a red circular official stamp at lower left; the serial number appears in red numerals within a central cartouche. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Blue and teal note with a light guilloche underprint. A central architectural vignette in the Jugendstil manner frames the bold numeral '20' above the word 'Mark' within a pediment-shaped cartouche flanked by decorative floral and scroll elements. A text block at the lower centre sets out the redemption conditions in blackletter script, with the printer's imprint 'H.W. Köbner & Co. G.m.b.H. Altona' beneath. A violet oval cancellation stamp of the Städtische Sparkasse in Wilster is applied to the upper left. |
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| Comments |
Wilster is a small market town in Holstein, and by 1918 its municipal savings bank — like hundreds of similar institutions across Germany — was forced into emergency note issuance as the Reichsbank's small-denomination coinage vanished entirely from circulation. The Kleingeldersatz problem had become acute by mid-war, and local Sparkassen stepped in where the central monetary apparatus could not.
H. W. Köbner & Co. in Altona handled a substantial volume of Notgeld printing for Schleswig-Holstein municipalities during this period. The firm's proximity to these small northern issuers made it the practical choice — Altona was then still an independent city, not yet absorbed into Hamburg.