Kaiserslautern issued this zinc notgeld piece in 1917 under the acute metal shortages that forced hundreds of German municipalities to produce their own emergency coinage during the war. By mid-1917, nickel and copper had been almost entirely redirected to military production, leaving civic authorities to mint with whatever base material remained available — zinc being among the least desirable and most brittle.
The Funck reference places this among the better-documented Pfalz municipal issues.
Kaiserslautern issued this zinc notgeld piece in 1917 under the acute metal shortages that forced hundreds of German municipalities to produce their own emergency coinage during the war. By mid-1917, nickel and copper had been almost entirely redirected to military production, leaving civic authorities to mint with whatever base material remained available — zinc being among the least desirable and most brittle.
The Funck reference places this among the better-documented Pfalz municipal issues.