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25 Pfennig Stadtsparkasse
| Issuer | Stadtsparkasse Bielefeld |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Red and black letterpress Kriegsnotgeld note with a dense all-over text underprint composed of wartime price lists and economic data in small type. The large central denomination numeral '25' appears in bold black script above the Gothic text 'Stadt Sparkasse', with the issuing authority inscription 'MAGISTRAT BIELEFELD 1.7.1917' below. The entire composition is framed by an ornate red guilloche border, and the note carries the text 'DIESES PAPIER BIS 1920 ERSTEN VIER' indicating its validity period. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | BIELEFELDER LEBENSMITTEL AUSSCHUSS 25 Kriegsplatz-Anweisung 1917 STADT SKB BIELEFELD OBERBUERGERMEISTER DR STAPENHORST FUER DAS KRIEGSNОТJAHR 1917 SCHULTZ VON DER MÜHLEN CALOW SEYRING |
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| Comments |
Bielefeld's municipal savings bank issued this note in 1917 as emergency small change — Kleingeldersatz — at a moment when metal coinage had been systematically stripped from circulation to feed wartime industrial demand. The Reichsbank had effectively abandoned the lower denominations, and municipalities across Germany were left to paper over the gap themselves.
Stadtsparkasse Bielefeld was among hundreds of local issuers doing the same thing that year, which makes individual attribution to a specific printer within the city difficult. Survival rates for these low-denomination wartime Notgeld issues vary enormously; the 25 Pfennig face value meant these passed through many hands quickly.