5 Pfennigs - Berlin Hermann Tietz

Hermann Tietz was one of Germany's dominant department store chains in the early twentieth century, operating flagship locations in Berlin at a scale that rivaled Wertheim and KaDeWe. Like several large retailers during the coin shortages of World War I and its aftermath, Tietz issued its own Notgeld-style tokens redeemable in-store — a practical workaround when the Reichsbank could not keep small-denomination coinage in circulation. Zinc was the only viable option by this point; copper and nickel had long been requisitioned for the war effort.