Heiligenstadt and Worbis were neighboring Prussian districts in the Eichsfeld region — predominantly Catholic enclaves in an otherwise Protestant Prussia — that jointly issued notgeld in 1919 as the postwar coinage shortage left ordinary commerce without small change. Iron was the only practical material available; copper and nickel had been consumed by the war effort years before this piece was struck.
Heiligenstadt and Worbis were neighboring Prussian districts in the Eichsfeld region — predominantly Catholic enclaves in an otherwise Protestant Prussia — that jointly issued notgeld in 1919 as the postwar coinage shortage left ordinary commerce without small change. Iron was the only practical material available; copper and nickel had been consumed by the war effort years before this piece was struck.