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25 Pfennig
| Issuer | Stadtrat Kronach (City Council of Kronach) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 25 Pfennigs (25 Pfennige) (0.25) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Notgeld note in a tripartite horizontal layout printed in black, red, and ochre tones. The central vignette, signed by artist F. Schwarz, presents a detailed letterpress illustration of a historic gabled townhouse in Kronach with figures in the foreground; flanking the vignette on left and right are bold red numeral '25' denominational panels above the legend 'Pfennig' in Gothic script. A validity clause in Gothic script occupies the lower-left panel, while the lower-right panel bears the issuing authority 'Kronach / Stadtrat' with date '1921' and a manuscript signature; the top banner reads 'Notgeld' and 'Kronach' on decorative ribbon scrolls. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Symmetrical reverse design in black, red, and buff tones, also by F. Schwarz, centered on the heraldic coat of arms of Kronach set within an elaborate cartouche surmounted by an ornate Baroque crest and flanked by two classically rendered écorché male figures as supporters. Oval panels on the left and right each enclose the bold red numeral '25' above a small decorative motif. The denomination 'fünfundzwanzig' is inscribed in Gothic script along the top border and 'Pfennig' along the lower border of each lateral panel. |
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| Comments |
Kronach is a small Franconian town best known as the birthplace of Lucas Cranach the Elder, and the local Stadtrat leaned into that identity when commissioning this 1921 Notgeld issue. F. Schwarz handled the design work — a regional artist rather than a major commercial printing house, which is typical of the more individualized Bavarian and Franconian municipal issues of the early inflation period.
By 1921, German municipalities had been issuing emergency small-change notes for several years, initially to compensate for hoarded coins during WWI. The Kronach issue sits in the tail end of the first Notgeld wave, just before hyperinflation forced denominations into the millions.