Catalog
5 Pfennigs
| Issuer | Stadt Oldenburg in Holstein (Magistrat) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Pfennigs (5 Pfennige) (0.05) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Oldenburg in Holstein Gut für 5 Pfennig Namens der Stadt Oldenburg in Holstein (Translation: Oldenburg in Holstein Good for 5 Pfennig In the name of the city of Oldenburg in Holstein) |
| Reverse description | Plain cream paper with a faint letterpress underprint reading 'Oldenburg in Holstein' in mirror image. A serial number in bold upright type appears in a ruled box at upper right, below which the redemption clause is set in centred Fraktur blackletter text. |
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| Comments |
Oldenburg in Holstein was one of hundreds of German municipalities that resorted to Notgeld during World War I as metal coinage — even the lowliest copper and zinc pieces — was hoarded or requisitioned for the war effort. The Magistrat's authority to issue these emergency pfennig notes derived from local administrative necessity rather than any central Reichsbank mandate, which is why the designs and printing quality vary so sharply between towns of comparable size.
At 5 Pfennig, this is among the smallest denominations produced in the series. Locally printed in the town itself, the note was intended for rapid circulation among tradespeople and was not expected to survive long.