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5 Mark Großporitsch; PoW Camp
| Issuer | Kriegsgefangenenlager Groß-Poritsch |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
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| In circulation to | Yes |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress on pale grey-green paper with a grey guilloche underprint, framed by a decorative border of interlocking scroll ornaments with the denomination numeral '5' positioned in each corner. The heading 'Kriegsgefangenenlager Groß-Poritsch' runs across the top, above two blocks of redemption text flanking the bold central inscription 'FÜNF MARK'. At lower left, the place and date 'Groß-Poritsch, 1. Februar 1916.' appears alongside a small floral ornament, with the manuscript signature of the Commandant and his title 'Major' at lower right, and the printer's imprint 'JOHANNES PÄSSLER, DRESDEN-N.' along the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain pale grey-green paper, largely unprinted, with a faint rectangular frame visible as a show-through from the obverse guilloche underprint. A violet cancellation handstamp reading 'Entwertet.' is applied diagonally across the centre, marking the voucher as officially invalidated. |
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| Comments |
Groß-Poritsch (now Velké Poříčí in the Czech Republic) was one of the many Austro-Hungarian prisoner-of-war camps that issued internal camp currency during the First World War to control inmate purchasing power and prevent specie from circulating among the prisoner population. These scrip issues were a practical administrative measure — not a monetary experiment — and most were printed in small runs by regional German printers on whatever paper stock was available.
Johannes Pässler of Dresden handled several such camp issues. The notes were typically invalidated and destroyed when the camp closed, which accounts for the genuine scarcity of surviving examples across the entire Groß-Poritsch series.