Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Karl Ruland, Offenbach am Main |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Milled |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain field bearing the large numeral '20' in bold serif script at centre, identical in layout to the obverse. The surrounding circular legend reads 'KARL RULAND' above and 'OFFENBACH A.M.' below, separated by two six-pointed star stops. A continuous beaded (pearl) border encircles the entire design along the inner rim. The relief on the reverse appears slightly shallower than the obverse. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Karl Ruland was a tobacco and colonial goods merchant in Offenbach am Main who issued notgeld during the acute small-change shortage that gripped Germany in 1917–18, as wartime metal requisitions stripped copper and nickel from circulation. Zinc was the fallback material for emergency municipal and commercial issuers alike — cheap, available, and deeply unglamorous. Offenbach, sitting just southeast of Frankfurt, produced a notable concentration of private merchant notgeld, reflecting how thoroughly the Reichsbank had lost its grip on everyday retail transactions by mid-war.