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5 Pfennig Köln; Officer PoW Camp
| Issuer | Offizier-Gefangenenlager Köln am Rhein (Officer Prisoner-of-War Camp Cologne on the Rhine) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| In circulation to | Yes |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress text on a purple and orange guilloche underprint, with a central circular rosette vignette carrying a black serial number. The denomination numeral '5' appears in large format at left and right, flanking the central vignette, with 'GUT FÜR' above and 'PFENNIG' below each numeral. Camp name and location are inscribed across the top, with the commandant's manuscript signature, date of issue, and printer's imprint at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | OFFIZIER-GEFANGENENLAGER KÖLN A.RH. GUT FÜR 5 PFENNIG DER KOMMANDANT: Köln am Rhein 1. Oktober 1918 KEIN OFFENTLICHES ZAHLUNGSMITTEL M. DuMont Schauberg, Köln. (Translation: Officer prisoner of war camp Cologne on Rhine. Good for 5 pfennigs. The commandant. Cologne on Rhine. October 1st, 1918. Not legal tender for public use.) |
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| Comments |
Offizier-Gefangenenlager Köln am Rhein was one of several German officer-grade internment facilities operating during the final year of the First World War, and like many such camps it issued its own internal scrip to manage transactions within the wire — preventing prisoners from accumulating Reichsmark currency that could fund escape attempts. The 5 Pfennig denomination is the smallest practical unit, suggesting these were issued alongside a ladder of higher values for canteen or mess use.
M. DuMont Schauberg, the Cologne press responsible for printing, was — and remains — one of Germany's oldest newspaper publishing houses, founded in the seventeenth century. Camp scrip was mundane contract work, but it localizes the note firmly to Cologne rather than to any central military printing authority.