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4 Mark Herzogliche Sparkasse
| Issuer | Herzoglich Braunschweigische Sparkasse (Ducal Brunswick Savings Bank) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 4 Marks |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely unprinted, presenting a plain beige-tan cardboard surface. A blind embossed circular seal impression is visible towards the upper right area, consistent with an official validation stamp applied through the note. No text, vignette, or colour printing appears on this side. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Blind embossed circular official seal pressed through the note, visible on the reverse as a raised impression |
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| Comments |
The Herzoglich Braunschweigische Sparkasse issued this Notgeld during the acute small-change famine of the First World War's final year, when Reichsbank metal coinage had essentially vanished from everyday transactions. Savings banks were among the more conservative issuers of emergency paper — they had institutional credibility, fixed customer bases, and real deposit liabilities behind them, which set them apart from the purely municipal scrip flooding the market at the same time.
The embossed seal was the savings bank's primary anti-counterfeiting measure, a deliberate choice given the cardboard substrate's obvious limitations. Four marks was a meaningful denomination for 1918 — not a fractional convenience piece but a sum worth protecting from crude replication.