Catalog
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| Issuer | Magistrat Ballenstedt |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse carries a fine engraved vignette of the Oterhof, a historic manor house in the Harz region, rendered in a detailed line-art style and framed within a decorative border. Tall trees flank the multi-gabled building, with a stone wall and pathway visible in the foreground. The inscription 'Oterhof' appears above the vignette, and the numeral '5' is printed in red in each of the four corners. |
| Reverse lettering | Oterhof 5 5 5 5 |
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| Comments |
Ballenstedt is a small town in the Harz foothills, and this 5 Pfennig note is a product of the Kleingeldersatz crisis of 1919–1921, when hoarding of metal coinage created a genuine shortage of small change across Germany. Municipal authorities were legally permitted to issue emergency paper fractionals — Kleingeldscheine — and hundreds of towns did exactly that, producing notes that often circulated only within the issuing locality.
The Magistrat issues from Ballenstedt are among the more obscure Saxony-Anhalt examples. Very little documentary record survives regarding print runs or issuing quantities.