5 Pfennig - Stettin

Stettin's 1917 zinc notgeld issue was a direct response to the Imperial German government's withdrawal of small copper coinage from circulation — metal requisitioned for shell casings and military hardware. Municipal authorities across Prussia scrambled to fill the gap, and Stettin was among the earlier cities to act. The zinc used here was itself a compromised substitute, prone to corrosion and warping in ways copper never was.

Funck 522.1 is the primary variety; survivors in undamaged condition are harder to locate than mintage figures suggest, precisely because the alloy degraded badly in storage.