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| Issuer | Stadt Elberfeld (City of Elberfeld) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gutschein Notgeld 25 Pfennig Stadt Elberfeld Dieser Schein verliert seine Gültigkeit einen Monat nach öffentlicher Bekanntmachung Elberfeld 15 Aug. 1919 Der Bürgermeister |
| Reverse description | The reverse, in matching orange-brown on cream paper, presents a symmetrical composition in which two large circular guilloche medallions each bearing the numeral "25" flank a central heraldic shield with a rampant lion beneath a castellated crest. A decorative rectangular border with foliate corner ornaments frames the entire design, with a repeating underprint pattern visible in the background. The full denomination "Fünfundzwanzig Pfennig" appears in a curved banner at the top, and "Stadt Elberfeld" is inscribed in a straight panel at the base. |
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| Comments |
Elberfeld issued this Notgeld note in 1919 as part of the nationwide small-change crisis that followed the collapse of the German Empire. Silver coins had vanished from circulation — hoarded, melted, or simply exhausted — and municipal governments were left to fill the gap themselves. Hundreds of cities did exactly this, with wildly varying quality and legal standing.
Elberfeld merged with four neighboring municipalities in 1929 to form Wuppertal, erasing it as an administrative entity entirely. Notes issued under the Elberfeld name are therefore fixed to a narrow window of civic existence.