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5 Mark Dyrotz; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Gefangenen-Lager Dyrotz (Prisoner of War Camp Dyrotz) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914-1918 |
| Type | Vouchers |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed note in black with a red underprint. The border consists of a decorative red guilloche frame with the numeral 5 repeated in each corner, interspersed with small Imperial German eagle vignettes. The camp name "Gefangenen-Lager Dyrotz" and denomination "GUTSCHEIN / FÜNF 5 MARK" appear in bold black type at centre, the large numeral 5 set within a red circular guilloche medallion. A violet oval handstamp of the camp administration is applied to the upper right, and cautionary anti-counterfeiting and non-legal-tender inscriptions appear in a black-bordered panel at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gefangenen-Lager Dyrotz GUTSCHEIN FÜNF 5 MARK Wer diesen Schein nachmacht oder verfälscht oder Fälschungen verausgabt, wird strafrechtlich verfolgt. Kein öffentliches Zahlungsmittel. (Translation: Dyrotz prisoner of war camp. Voucher. Five marks. Whoever imitates or falsifies this note, or issues counterfeits, will be prosecuted. No legal tender.) |
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| Comments |
Dyrotz was one of dozens of German prisoner-of-war camps that issued their own internal scrip during the First World War, a practical response to the logistical problem of keeping foreign currency out of camp economies. The H.S. Hermann printing house in Berlin supplied a number of these camp issues, working from relatively simple typeset formats that could be quickly customized per facility.
The handstamp was the primary authenticity control — without it, notes were considered invalid and could not be redeemed at the camp canteen. Counterfeiting within camps was a known problem, and some issues were invalidated and replaced mid-war for exactly that reason, though whether Dyrotz specifically underwent a reissue is not firmly documented.