5 Pfennigs - Eltville Jean Müller Elektr. Fabrik

Jean Müller's electrical factory in Eltville am Rhein was among hundreds of German industrial firms that issued their own emergency coinage — Werksgeld or factory money — during the First World War, when the imperial government's requisition of copper and nickel for munitions production created an acute shortage of small change. These zinc pieces circulated exclusively within the factory premises, redeemable at the company canteen or against wages, and had no legal tender status outside the gates.

Zinc was the default material precisely because it had little strategic value to the war economy.