5 Pfennig - Lauenburg an der Elbe

The Vorschussverein — a cooperative credit society — was among the least likely institutions to be issuing emergency coinage, yet by 1917 the near-total disappearance of small German coins from circulation had pushed civic organizations of every kind into ad hoc monetary roles. Metal shortages driven by the war effort had stripped copper and nickel from civilian use entirely, leaving iron as the default for Notgeld token issues like this one.

Lauenburg an der Elbe, a small town on the navigable stretch of the Elbe near the Schleswig-Holstein border, saw numerous local issuers during 1917–1918.