20 Pfennig Langensalza; PoW Camp

Langensalza held French and later British prisoners during the First World War, and the internal camp currency issued there was a functional necessity — German authorities were required under the Hague Convention to account for prisoner labor and provide a medium for canteen purchases that could not be spent outside the wire. The embossed seal was the primary anti-counterfeiting measure, a low-tech but practical solution given that escape-motivated forgery was a genuine concern in large permanent camps.

Campbell 3214 covers the 20 Pfennig denomination within a series that spans several values. Condition varies sharply across survivors — paper this thin rarely came through decades of attic storage without creasing.