Catalog
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| Issuer | Magistrat der Stadt Kattowitz |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Cream-toned note with an overall floral rosette underprint in ochre and brown. A large outlined numeral '5' occupies the centre against a dense yellow guilloche medallion, flanked by the denomination 'MARK' in bold Gothic lettering on both sides. The top inscription announces the Volksabstimmung (plebiscite) context with the date 20. März 1921, while the lower portion carries the issuing authority inscription and issue date, with the serial number printed in red. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 5 5 1865 1865 GÜLTIG BIS 15. MAI 1921 |
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| Comments |
Kattowitz — now Katowice, Poland — was in the middle of a genuine crisis when this note was issued. The three Silesian Uprisings between 1919 and 1921 and the subsequent League of Nations plebiscite over the region's fate created acute administrative uncertainty and chronic small-denomination coin shortages. Local authorities across Upper Silesia responded with emergency Notgeld, and Kattowitz was no exception.
The 1921 date places this note squarely in the final, most violent phase of the conflict, just before the partition decision awarded the industrial core — including Kattowitz itself — to Germany, a boundary that lasted until 1939.