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5 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtmagistrat Kaufbeuren (City of Kaufbeuren) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Mark |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Typographically composed Kriegsnotgeld note printed in dark grey-brown letterpress on plain paper, with an elaborate guilloche underprint of interlocking rosettes and lathe-work filling the entire field. The denomination "Fünf Mark" is set in large bold Gothic type at centre, with numeral "5" repeated at lower left and lower right; a red serial number is printed twice, at upper right and lower left. The issuing authority, place, date of 15 October 1918, and a facsimile signature of the rechtsk. Bürgermeister are set in smaller Gothic letterpress in the lower half. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A multicolour artistic vignette at centre shows a medieval knight in full armour grasping a large diagonal banner charged with six-pointed stars, with the towers of Kaufbeuren's townscape visible in the background. Bold black rectangular panels at upper left and upper right carry the denomination words "Fünf" and "Mark" in white capitals, framed by decorative foliate scroll borders with the numeral "5" at the lower corners of each panel. Validity and legal tender texts occupy the left and right panels respectively, with the printer's imprint in small type at the foot. |
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| Comments |
Kaufbeuren's 5 Mark Notgeld from 1918 is a product of the acute small-change shortage that gripped German municipalities in the final year of the First World War, when metal coinage had largely disappeared from circulation and the Reichsbank could not keep pace with local demand. The city magistrate — the Stadtmagistrat — had legal standing to issue emergency notes under the wartime provisions that effectively decentralized currency production across hundreds of German towns.
Vereinigte Kunstanstalten A.G. was a Kaufbeuren-based printer with commercial art capabilities, which is why municipal Notgeld from this town tends to be better produced than the crude rubber-stamp issues coming out of smaller communities at the same time.