50 Heller Mariazell

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.