Catalog
25 Pfennig
| Issuer | Stadt Monschau (City of Monschau) |
|---|---|
| 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gutschein der Stadt Monschau 25 Dieser Gutschein verliert am 1. Januar 1922 seine Gültigkeit. Monschau, 1.7.21. Der Bürgermeister Fünfundzwanzig Pfennige |
| Reverse description | The reverse carries a polychrome vignette in blue-grey, ochre, and black, presenting a street scene of the Monschau market square ('Am Markt') with half-timbered and stone townhouses rendered in a graphic woodcut style. The denomination medallion '25 Pfennig' is set within a circular cartouche at the top centre, flanked by the header inscription. Vertical side panels repeat the text 'MONSCHAU' and the numeral '25' as a latent underprint element, and a two-line verse in Gothic script runs along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
Monschau's 1921 notgeld series belongs to the second wave of German municipal emergency currency — the so-called "Serienscheine" phase, when towns began competing for collector interest as much as circulating necessity. By 1921 the acute coin shortage that had justified notgeld in 1918–1919 was easing, but the collector market had become its own economic incentive. Many municipalities issued sets specifically to be sold uncut and uncirculated to dealers and hobbyists, generating revenue from the hobby trade rather than commerce.
Lütkens as designer is consistent with several Rhineland municipal issues of the period, though attribution to specific printing houses for Monschau's series remains poorly documented.