Catalog
25 Pfennig
| Issuer | Swakopmunder Buchhandlung |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916-1918 |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| 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) | P#9 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gutschein über NUMMER Fünfundzwanzig Pf. Swakopmunder Buchhandlung Ges. m. b. H., Swakopmund. |
| Reverse description | Plain unprinted reverse on aged cream paper, bearing only a partial violet handstamp in the lower right corner. No vignette, text, or ornamental elements are present. |
| 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 |
Swakopmunder Buchhandlung — literally the Swakopmund Bookshop — was a retail stationer and bookseller, not a financial institution. It issued this note during the period when German South West Africa was already under South African military occupation following the territory's surrender in July 1915. The colonial administration had collapsed, German currency supplies had dried up, and local businesses filled the gap with privately printed Notgeld.
The bookshop had the materials and the press to do it. That practical accident is why a stationer appears as an issuing authority on a circulating banknote.