Borsig's Tegel locomotive works had been one of Germany's premier industrial operations since the 1830s, but by 1917 the factory was running almost entirely on war contracts. The Imperial government's requisitioning of copper and nickel left firms like Borsig scrambling to pay their own workers — hence zinc notgeld issued in-house, redeemable only at the company canteen or works store. It kept wages moving without draining the metal pool the military had claimed.
The Hasselmann cataloguing distinguishes at least two die varieties for this type, reflected in the dual reference numbers.
Borsig's Tegel locomotive works had been one of Germany's premier industrial operations since the 1830s, but by 1917 the factory was running almost entirely on war contracts. The Imperial government's requisitioning of copper and nickel left firms like Borsig scrambling to pay their own workers — hence zinc notgeld issued in-house, redeemable only at the company canteen or works store. It kept wages moving without draining the metal pool the military had claimed.
The Hasselmann cataloguing distinguishes at least two die varieties for this type, reflected in the dual reference numbers.