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25 Pfennig Townscape Series
| Issuer | Stadt Zeulenroda (City of Zeulenroda), Thuringia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is divided into three horizontal registers printed in blue, black, and red on an orange-stippled ground. The upper register, framed by a blue border, contains a four-line German verse in bold letterpress within a ribbon-shaped cartouche. The central black band carries the denomination numeral '25' in large red figures at left and right, flanking a central oval vignette of the Zeulenroda municipal coat of arms — a crowned lion above a crenellated wall, set in a gold baroque surround. The lower register bears the issuing authority inscription and validity clause in blue letterpress, closed by the date '1.11.21' and a manuscript signature above the title 'O: Bürgermeister'; the printer's imprint of Otto Henning A.G., Greiz appears in small script below the frame. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a central polychrome vignette of a Zeulenroda street scene rendered in an Expressionist woodcut style, with steep-roofed burghers' houses, flowering shrubs in the foreground, and a baroque church tower rising above the roofline against a pale blue sky. Above the vignette, a scrollwork banner in gold and black bears the town name 'Zeulen · roda' flanked by the years '1438' and '1921', referencing the town's historical founding and the note's issue date. Flanking the central scene at left and right are tall black panels, each containing the denomination '25 Pf.' in large black numerals on a gold-orange cartouche with Art Nouveau foliate decoration and radiating star motifs at top and bottom. |
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| Comments |
Zeulenroda's 1921 Notgeld issue belongs to the wave of municipal emergency currency that flooded Germany during the coin shortage that followed the First World War. By 1921 the shortage had become almost theatrical — towns competed to produce the most visually elaborate small-denomination notes, partly out of civic pride, partly because collectors were already buying them by the sheet. Otto Henning A.G. in nearby Greiz was a natural choice for a small Thuringian town with no access to the major Leipzig or Berlin print houses.
Bürgermeister Ronmann's single signature sufficed for authorization — no countersignature from a treasurer or cashier, which was common for smaller municipalities issuing in low denominations under the simplified Notgeld authorization rules of the period.