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5 Pfennige
| Issuer | Magistrat der Kreisstadt Sorau N.-L. |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 73 × 43 mm |
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| Obverse description | Printed in dark brownish-red on cream paper, the obverse carries a decorative border of dot-and-lozenge guilloche. A central heraldic shield bearing the numeral '5' and the inscription 'Pfennige' is flanked by oak-leaf vignettes in the upper field, with the issuer legend 'Magistrat der Kreisstadt Sorau N.-L.' arranged around the shield. Below, the place name 'Sorau N.-L.' and the date 'Kriegsjahr 1918' appear on either side of an oval cartouche reading 'DER MAGISTRAT', beneath which two manuscript facsimile signatures are printed. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse, also in dark brownish-red on cream paper, presents the quartered municipal arms of Sorau within a scrollwork cartouche at the top centre, the shield divided into four fields with a stag, antlers, a dog, and stars. The denomination 'Fünf Pfennige' is set in bold Gothic lettering across the centre, below which a three-line redemption text in German Gothic script states the note's validity at all municipal offices until 31 December 1920. A serial number in red and the series designation 'Serie VII' are printed along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
Sorau (now Żary in western Poland) issued this Kriegsgeld note in 1918 as small-denomination coinage had effectively disappeared from circulation — hoarded by the public and consumed by the war economy's insatiable demand for copper and nickel. Municipal authorities across Germany were empowered to fill the gap themselves, producing thousands of locally sanctioned Notgeld issues with minimal central oversight.
Carl Flemming & Wiskott in Glogau (Głogów) printed extensively for regional municipalities throughout Silesia during this period. The printer was barely forty kilometers from Sorau itself.