3 Mark Kreis Neustadt in Westpreußen

Neustadt in Westpreußen — today Wejherowo in northern Poland — was one of dozens of German Kreise that scrambled to issue emergency Kleingeld in the opening weeks of August 1914, when the mobilization for war caused an almost immediate disappearance of coin from circulation. Hoarding struck hard and fast; the Reichsbank could not respond quickly enough, and local administrations stepped in under their own authority.

The Kreiskommunalkasse, the district treasury rather than any banking institution, backed the notes from municipal funds. The official stamp served as the primary authentication — not particularly sophisticated, but sufficient for local acceptance in a community where the issuing authority was known by name.

This series was redeemable in Reichsmarks and almost certainly withdrawn within months, which is the typical fate of the August 1914 wave of Kreis notgeld.