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50 Heller Mariazell
| Issuer | Marktgemeinde Mariazell (Market Town of Mariazell) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in the same dark brownish-red on cream paper, the reverse presents a large central vignette illustrating a historical scene of Mariazell in the year 1157, showing a mounted figure on horseback in a rocky woodland landscape, enclosed within a decorative scroll-pattern border. The inscription 'Mariazell im Jahre 1157' appears in a cartouche at the top of the vignette. Below, two text blocks flanking the denomination numeral '50' state the total issue amount and confirm redemption in legal tender up to 30 September 1920. |
| Reverse lettering | Mariazell im Jahre 1157 Die Marktgemeinde Mariazell gibt Gutscheine bis zu einem Gesamtbetrage von 80000 Kraus. 50 (G.R.B. 8/6. 1920.) Diese Gutscheine werden bis 30. Septemb. 1920 in gesetzlichem Bargeld eingelöst. |
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| Comments |
Mariazell's status as one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Central Europe made it an unusual issuer of Notgeld — the town's economy was heavily seasonal, and small-denomination emergency currency like this 50 Heller note helped local commerce function during the acute coin shortages that plagued Austria in the years immediately after the First World War. Hundreds of Austrian municipalities issued their own Notgeld between 1919 and 1921, but pilgrimage towns had a particular incentive: a constant stream of visitors created genuine transactional pressure on local retailers.
Emil Phetzel of Steyr handled a significant volume of Upper Austrian municipal printing during this period. The JPR0590II designation indicates this is the second type in the Mariazell Heller series.