25 Pfennig

Cologne's wartime Kleingeldersatz — small-change substitutes issued as coinage vanished into hoarding and metal drives — bore the signature of Konrad Adenauer in his capacity as deputy mayor (Beigeordneter), not yet the city's Oberbürgermeister, a post he would assume in 1917 and hold until forcibly removed by the Nazis in 1933. His signature appears on these notes at what was effectively the beginning of his long municipal career.

J.P. Bachem, a Cologne-based Catholic publishing house with printing operations, handled production locally. The paper quality on surviving examples varies considerably — wartime stock was inconsistent, and the thinner issues are prone to fold splitting at the corners.