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5 Pfennig Bethel
| Issuer | Hauptkassenverwaltung Bethel bei Bielefeld |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 60 × 45 mm |
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| Obverse description | Printed in dark green on cream paper, the note is enclosed within a decorative border incorporating stylised floral corner ornaments and a continuous wavy inner rule. At centre, a large bold numeral "5" is set within a circular cartouche bearing the legend "Reichswährung" in a curved band, flanked by the issuer's designation and voucher text rendered in ornate Gothic blackletter script. A serial number in plain typeface appears along the lower centre. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely unprinted, presenting a plain cream-coloured paper surface with no text, vignette, or security device of any kind. |
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| Comments |
Bethel is not a municipality but a Protestant charitable institution — a self-contained settlement near Bielefeld founded in 1867 for people with epilepsy and later expanded to serve those with a range of disabilities and psychiatric conditions. During the acute Kleingeldmangel of 1919, Bethel's internal administration issued its own scrip rather than wait on a German banking system that was already buckling. The notes circulated exclusively within the Bethel community, functioning as a closed-loop internal currency for residents and staff.
That issuing authority — the Hauptkassenverwaltung, the central treasury office of the institution — is the detail worth noting. This is not municipal Notgeld in any conventional sense.