5 Pfennigs - München Chemische Werke

Chemische Werke München issued this notgeld piece in 1918 as Germany's wartime metal shortages stripped the Reichsbank's ability to supply adequate small-denomination coinage. Zinc was itself a strategic material — primarily commandeered for cartridge casings and galvanizing military hardware — so a private chemical works obtaining authorization to strike zinc tokens for internal wage and canteen use reflects how severely the civilian payment infrastructure had broken down by that final year of the war.