3 Kronen on 50 Heller Meggenhofen

Meggenhofen is a small agricultural village in the Hausruckviertel district of Upper Austria — not the kind of place that normally enters the numismatic record. This note exists because of the acute small-change famine that gripped Austria in the immediate postwar years. The collapse of the Habsburg monetary system left municipal and commercial issuers scrambling to fill the gap, producing the vast category of Austrian Notgeld that collectors now classify as Ortsgemeinde-Scheine.

The overprint mechanism here — 3 Kronen stamped onto a 50 Heller base note — reflects mid-issue revaluation as inflation rendered the original denomination nearly useless within months of printing. Hattinger's single-signature authorization was typical for small Gemeinde issues where a Bürgermeister or treasurer signed as sole guarantor.