Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
25 Pfennig
| Issuer | Stadt Köln (City of Cologne) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| 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 | Rectangular |
| 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) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Printed in brown and orange on an ochre guilloche underprint, the obverse carries the bold denomination '25 PFENNIG' at centre-left, above a serial number panel, with the series letter 'CIV' overprinted in red. To the right stands a full-length intaglio-style vignette of Jan von Werth, the celebrated Cologne cavalry commander, identified by the caption 'J. v. Werth' at the base of his pedestal. The border consists of an ornate dark-brown frame with repeating diamond-chain motifs and corner numerals '25', while the header and footer each bear the legend 'STADT KÖLN 1921'; the lower margin carries the printer's imprint 'M. DUMONT SCHAUBERG, KÖLN', and a red circular official stamp appears at lower left alongside the date 'Köln, den 13. Juli 1921' and the facsimile signature of the Oberbürgermeister. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a warm ochre-brown on a fine repetitive letterpress underprint of the words 'STADT KÖLN' across the entire field. At centre, an arched vignette illustrates a farewell scene between a soldier and a young woman — the legendary figures Jan and Griet — captioned 'ABSCHIED' at the top of the arch and 'JAN UN GRIET' at the base. Two rectangular text panels flank the central vignette bearing lines of Cologne dialect verse, while the four corners each carry a circular medallion with the numeral '25'. |
| 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 |
Cologne's Notgeld issues of 1920–1922 were among the most systematically produced of any German city — M. Dumont Schauberg, the long-established Cologne printing and publishing house, handled the city's own emergency currency in-house, which was unusual enough to be worth noting. Most municipalities contracted specialist security printers; Köln essentially used its newspaper printer.
By 1921, Notgeld had largely stopped functioning as genuine emergency money and had become a collector commodity. Cities issued attractive small-denomination notes knowing they would never return for redemption, effectively generating revenue from philatelists and hoarders across Germany and abroad.