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5 Pfennig Ammoniakwerk Merseburg/BASF
| Issuer | Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik (BASF), Ammoniakwerk Merseburg / Leuna-Werk |
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| Year | |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Dark blue-grey notgeld voucher (Gutschein) printed on plain paper with a braided guilloche border and circular rosette ornaments at each corner, each bearing the denomination "5 PFG." in white on black. The upper portion carries three lines of issuer text followed by the cursive legend "Gutschein über"; the centre presents the large numeral "5" on a solid black disc flanked by the word "PFENNIG" on either side within an ornamental guilloche band. The lower section bears two manuscript signatures preceded by "i.V.", a six-digit serial number in a serif typeface, and a cautionary clause stating that notes with missing or partial numbers will not be redeemed. |
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| Reverse description | Printed in grey-blue on plain paper, the reverse carries the same braided guilloche border and four corner rosette vignettes each inscribed "5 PFG." A block of German text in the centre states the conditions of validity: the voucher is redeemable exclusively at the Ammoniakwerk and will lose its validity if not presented within one month of a redemption call posted on the works noticeboard, with encashment to be carried out at the works cashier offices (Kassestellen des Werkes). |
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| Comments |
The Leuna works near Merseburg were among the largest industrial complexes in Germany, built during the First World War specifically to produce synthetic ammonia for explosives once the British naval blockade cut off Chilean saltpeter imports. BASF operated the site and, like hundreds of German industrial employers during the 1920s inflation crisis, issued its own Notgeld to pay workers when the Reichsbank could not supply sufficient small denomination notes fast enough to meet payroll demands.
A print run of over twelve million for a single denomination tells you something about the workforce scale at Leuna — and about how quickly low-value notes were consumed during hyperinflation.