20 Pfennig - Regen Anna Roth Waldbeeren and Pilze Grosshandlung

A piece of emergency private commerce rather than state monetary policy — this zinc token was issued by a wholesale dealer in forest berries and mushrooms operating out of Regen, a small town in the Bavarian Forest. Such Privatnotgeld appeared across rural Germany during the early 1920s when small change vanished entirely from circulation, hoarded or melted as metal values fluctuated wildly against the collapsing mark. A wholesaler of seasonal forest goods would have had particular need for small-denomination tokens to settle accounts with local pickers paid by weight at the depot.