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25 Mark Stadtsparkasse
| Issuer | Stadtsparkasse Bielefeld |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
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| Printer | E. Gundlach A. G., Bielefeld, Germany |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette in blue and dark red on cream silk ground, presenting a circular pool scene in which human figures approach crippled and emerge healed, rendered in an Expressionist style. Flanking the central medallion are additional allegorical figures in dynamic poses, framed by the denomination numeral '25' repeated in each corner. The entire design is bordered by the principal payment legend arranged along all four edges, with subsidiary inscriptions referencing the 700th anniversary jubilee of the City of Bielefeld, dated 15. Juli 1921, and bearing a manuscript magistrate's signature at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DIE STADTSPARKASSE BIELEFELD ZAHLE GEGEN DIESE PLATZANWEISUNG AUS UNSEREM GUTHABEN AN ÜBERBRINGER ZUR 700-JÄHRIGEN JUBILÄUMSFEIER DER STADT BIELEFELD AM 15. JULI 1921 DER MAGISTRAT 1221 © 1921 25 |
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| Comments |
Bielefeld's silk Notgeld series is among the most unusual emergency currency produced during the hyperinflationary chaos of the early Weimar period. The Stadtsparkasse commissioned E. Gundlach — a local printing firm — to produce notes on actual woven silk fabric rather than paper, a practical hedge against one of the core vulnerabilities of paper Notgeld: easy counterfeiting. Silk was harder to source, harder to print on cleanly, and the texture itself served as a built-in authentication feature.
The 25 Mark denomination sits in the middle of Bielefeld's fabric note range. Gundlach's registration on silk presented genuine technical challenges, and slight misalignment in the print is not uncommon on surviving examples.