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25 Pfennig
| Issuer | Stadt Diez (Magistrat der Stadt Diez) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | The note is printed in black on cream paper within a decorative foliate border. At centre, a rectangular panel in Gothic blackletter script carries the issuer's name 'Stadt Diez' above a stylised municipal monogram or cipher, followed by the validity clause and date in roman type. The four corners each bear a circular medallion: the upper-left and lower-right display the numeral '25', while the upper-right and lower-left contain a cursive Pfennig sign, all set against a fine crosshatched ground. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse carries a detailed panoramic engraving of the historic town of Dietz (Diez) an der Lahn, identified by the caption 'DIETZ Nassawisch.' at the top centre beneath the Latin motto 'TENUI PENDENTIA FILO.' A winged allegorical figure suspending a globe appears in the upper left of the vignette. Below the townscape, two lines of Latin verse and two lines of German verse in Kurrent script are arranged in parallel columns within a ruled border. |
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| Comments |
Diez is a small town on the Lahn river in Nassau, and like thousands of German municipalities in 1920, its magistrate resorted to printing its own emergency currency — Notgeld — to address a severe shortage of small-denomination coins. The Reich had essentially stopped producing low-value coinage during the war and never caught up; local governments filled the gap themselves, with wildly inconsistent results in terms of printing quality and redemption reliability.
Diez's issues are minor entries in the broader Notgeld record, unremarkable for rarity or printing distinction. Most surviving examples are from collector sets assembled at the time — municipalities quickly learned that hobbyist demand made Notgeld a small revenue source, which is why so many 1920 issues survive in near-unissued condition.