5 Pfennig

Freienwalde in Pommern — a small Pomeranian town, not to be confused with Bad Freienwalde in Brandenburg — issued this note during the acute small-change shortage that plagued Germany in the early Weimar period. Municipal and local authorities across the country were legally permitted to issue emergency paper (Notgeld) to fill the gap left by hoarded or melted coinage, and the Magistrat exercised that right here. Thousands of German localities did the same between 1919 and 1921, which is why collector interest tends to focus on series with unusual vignettes or printing errors rather than the denomination itself.