5 Pfennig - Germersheim

Germersheim's 1917 emergency coinage — Kriegsgeld issued as the Imperial war machine drained Germany's copper and nickel reserves for shell casings and military hardware — reflects the municipal scramble to keep small transactions functioning at home. Hundreds of German cities and towns issued their own notgeld that year, but Germersheim's iron pieces are among the more modestly documented, with catalog variants distinguished by subtle die differences tracked under the Funck numbering system.