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4.2 Pfennig Gold / 1⁄100 US-Dollar Handelskammer
| Issuer | Handelskammer Mannheim (Chamber of Commerce Mannheim) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Green letterpress note with a central text panel enclosed within a scalloped decorative border. The panel carries the full redemption text in German stating the note will be redeemed within one month of public notice at the Südd. Disconto-Ges. A.-G. Mannheim, against which a corresponding gold security deposit is held. The denomination '4,2' appears in large bold numerals both within the central panel alongside '= 1/100 DOLLAR / REICHS-GOLDANLEIHE' and repeated in large green type on the right margin with the legends 'PFENNIG GOLD' and '1/100 Dollar'. A circular Handelskammer seal watermark is visible as an underprint in the centre of the panel, and the issue date 'MANNHEIM, den 10. November 1923' is printed above the two manuscript signatures. A serial number prefix letter and five-digit numeral appear at the upper left, with a left-margin vertical inscription noting authorisation by the Reichsfinanzminister. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Notgeldschein der Handelskammer Mannheim Die Handelskammer Mannheim löst diesen Notgeldschein binnen Monatsfrist nach öffentlichem Aufruf in 4,2 PFENNIG GOLD = 1/100 DOLLAR REICHS-GOLDANLEIHE bei der Südd. Disconto-Ges. A.-G. Mannheim ein, bei der ein entsprechender Betrag als Sicherheit hinterlegt ist. MANNHEIM, den 10. November 1923 Handelskammer für den Kreis Mannheim: Ausgegeben mit Genehmigung des Reichsministers der Finanzen. 4,2 PFENNIG GOLD 1/100 Dollar |
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| Comments |
The Handelskammer Mannheim's fractional notgeld from 1923 occupies a peculiar corner of German emergency currency: the denomination is pegged simultaneously to a gold pfennig value and to one-hundredth of a US dollar, a dual anchor that reflects the complete collapse of confidence in the Reichsmark by mid-1923. Chambers of commerce across Germany were issuing wertbeständiges Notgeld — value-stable emergency money — indexed to foreign currencies or commodity prices precisely because the paper mark was depreciating faster than notes could be printed.
The 4.2 Pfennig gold figure is not arbitrary. It derives from the pre-war gold parity, where 4.2 gold pfennig equaled one US cent at the fixed rate of 4.20 marks per dollar established under the gold standard.