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5 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtmagistrat Kempten (Allgäu) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Kriegsnotgeld der Stadt Kempten Allg. Fünf Mark zahlt die Stadtkasse Kempten ohne Abzug dem Einlieferer dieses Scheines. Dieser Schein wird spätestens zum 1. Februar 1919 zur Einziehung und Einlösung aufgerufen. Kempten, den 2. November 1918 Stadtmagistrat rechtss. Bürgermeister No |
| Reverse description | Entirely covered by a dense purple guilloche underprint of swirling rosette and lathe-work patterns, the reverse carries the denomination 'Fünf Mark' in large purple Gothic blackletter arching across the upper field. A central vignette presents a line-engraved townscape of Kempten with a tall church tower and spire rising above the roofline. Curved Gothic text encircles the vignette, and a red handstamp 'Ungültig' (invalid) with flanking arrows is applied at the lower margin, indicating official cancellation. |
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| Comments |
Kempten's municipal authority issued this note in 1918 as Notgeld — emergency currency produced locally when small-denomination Reichsmark coinage had effectively vanished from circulation, hoarded or melted as the war economy deteriorated. The Stadtmagistrat had both the legal latitude and the pressing need to act unilaterally.
Jos. Kösel was a legitimate Kempten publisher and printer with roots in Catholic devotional printing — an unusual provenance for a circulating banknote, but entirely typical of how German municipalities sourced emergency currency: whoever had a press and paper got the contract.