Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
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!
21 Goldpfennig Handelskammer
| Issuer | Handelskammer für den Amtsbezirk Pforzheim (Chamber of Commerce for the District of Pforzheim) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 99 × 57 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | 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 | The obverse is printed in dark brown on a pale rose guilloche underprint ground. At upper left, a rectangular panel carries the bold legend 'Gutschein über Reichsgoldanleihe', followed by a sub-legend stating the voucher was issued with the approval of the Reich Minister of Finance. A central circular vignette contains a stylised foliate motif. The large-format denomination line '21 Goldpfennig = 1/20 Dollar' is set in bold letterpress type, with the written-out equivalent 'Einundzwanzig Goldpfennig gleich ein zwanzigstel Dollar' below. A security clause, the place-and-date line 'PFORZHEIM, DEN 1. NOVEMBER 1923', and the issuer name 'Die Handelskammer für den Amtsbezirk Pforzheim' complete the main field, with two manuscript signatures at lower centre. To the right, a vertical coupon panel in purple carries the denomination '21 Goldpfennig 1/20 Dollar', a serial number, and the series letter 'REIHE K'. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in black on plain cream paper and is entirely typographic, carrying no pictorial vignette. The upper section lists the Pforzheim banks authorised to redeem the voucher, headed by the sentence 'Dieser Gutschein wird von den nachstehenden Banken in Pforzheim eingelöst:'. A concluding paragraph in a larger typeface states the redemption conditions in accordance with the regulations of the Reich government. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The 21 Goldpfennig denomination is the quirky arithmetic of Weimar-era emergency finance: Pforzheim's Chamber of Commerce was attempting to denominate small-value notgeld in stable gold-equivalent units rather than in depreciating paper marks, sidestepping the hyperinflation that made round denominations meaningless almost the moment they were printed. Twenty-one is not a typo — fractional gold-pfennig notes frequently used odd multiples tied to the actual commodity costs the issuing body was trying to cover.
Pforzheim's jewelry and watchmaking trades dominated the district's economy, giving the Chamber both the financial motive and the organizational infrastructure to issue stabilized scrip when the Reichsbank could not.