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5 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Pforzheim (City of Pforzheim) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in the same red-brown tone on cream paper and shares the ornate interlaced border of the obverse. A large central rosette guilloche vignette carries the bold numeral '5' at its centre, surrounded by a circular legend, and is flanked by four circular seal medallions bearing the Pforzheim municipal arms. The denomination 'Gutschein über Fünf Mark' arcs above the vignette and 'der Stadt Pforzheim i.B.' appears below; a redemption notice is set in a text panel at upper centre and a counterfeiting penalty warning occupies the lower panel. |
| Reverse lettering | Gutschein über Fünf Mark der Stadt Pforzheim i.B. Dieser Gutschein wird von der Stadtkasse Pforzheim i. Baden gegen Vorzeigung spätestens am 1. Februar 1919 eingelöst. Wer Kassenscheine nachmacht oder verfälscht oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter zwei Jahren bestraft. |
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| Comments |
Pforzheim's municipal emergency currency — Notgeld — emerged from the same wartime breakdown in small-change supply that pushed hundreds of German cities and towns into self-issued scrip from 1914 onward. By 1918, the Reichsbank's metal coinage had effectively vanished from circulation, hoarded or melted, and local authorities were left to fill the gap with whatever printing capacity they had on hand.
A 5 Mark denomination sits at the upper end of the municipal Notgeld range for this period; most Stadt issues of 1918 ran to 50 Pfennig or 1 Mark. Whether Pforzheim actually redeemed these at face value after the Armistice is uncertain — many municipalities quietly let their obligations lapse amid the monetary chaos of 1919.