5 Pfennig

Annaberg — the Saxon silver-mining town that gave the world the Joachimsthaler's immediate predecessor — was reduced to issuing fractional paper in the smallest denominations imaginable during the post-WWI Kleingeldersatz crisis. Cities across Germany plugged the coin shortage with their own emergency issues, and municipal authorities like Annaberg had neither the infrastructure nor the budget for anything elaborate. The result was almost purely functional: small-run local paper accepted within tight geographic limits and largely worthless beyond the town boundary.

These tiny Notgeld pieces rarely survived daily handling in good condition — the paper stock was often thin and cheap, and the notes changed hands constantly for everyday transactions before being redeemed or simply worn out.