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5 Mark Göttingen; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Kriegsgefangenenlager Göttingen |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
| In circulation to | Yes |
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| Obverse description | Brown letterpress print on a pale green guilloche underprint, with ornamental corner rosettes and interlocking border frames. The camp name 'Kriegsgefangenenlager GÖTTINGEN' is inscribed in bold lettering at the top, above a central panel bearing the denomination 'Fünf Mark' in large script within a rectangular cartouche. The date 'Göttingen, im Dezember 1917' and the camp currency redemption clause appear in the lower portion, with the printer's imprint of J. C. König & Ebhardt, Hannover visible at the bottom margin; a blue handstamp is applied to the left centre of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain unprinted paper in a pale cream tone, bearing a faint circular violet handstamp applied off-centre to the right. No additional design elements, text, or vignettes are present. |
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| Comments |
German prisoner-of-war camp currency issued at Göttingen during the First World War occupied a legal grey area from the start. Camp authorities across the Reich were permitted to issue their own scrip to prevent prisoners from accumulating Reichsmarks that could fund escape attempts or be passed to civilian contacts — the system was pragmatic and widespread, but each camp's notes were entirely local instruments, worthless beyond the wire.
J. C. König & Ebhardt of Hannover were commercial stationers and printers by trade, not a security printing house. That choice of printer, repeated across several camp issues, tells you something about the low security priority attached to these notes — forgery by prisoners was considered a minor risk compared to the administrative problem of uncontrolled currency.