Mosbach's 1920 iron notgeld coinage was a direct consequence of the postwar German metal shortage — the Reich had stripped civilian copper and nickel reserves during the war, leaving municipalities to fill the gap with whatever was available. Iron was the stopgap, though it corrodes readily in circulation, which explains why undamaged survivors are harder to find than the original mintage figures would suggest.
Mosbach's 1920 iron notgeld coinage was a direct consequence of the postwar German metal shortage — the Reich had stripped civilian copper and nickel reserves during the war, leaving municipalities to fill the gap with whatever was available. Iron was the stopgap, though it corrodes readily in circulation, which explains why undamaged survivors are harder to find than the original mintage figures would suggest.