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50 Heller Steyr, brown issue
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Steyr (City of Steyr) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The left half of the obverse carries a vignette of two allegorical figures rendered in a fine letterpress brown underprint against a plain ground, with the validity date 'Gültig bis 31. März 1921' inscribed along the lower margin. The right half bears the denomination text 'GUTSCHEIN / FÜR / FÜNFZIG / HELLER' in bold decorative lettering within a ruled border, followed by the guarantee text of the Stadtgemeinde Steyr and two manuscript signatures of municipal officials. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is divided into three vertical panels within a guilloche outer border: the left panel presents an industrial townscape with factory buildings and tall smokestacks; the central panel bears the heraldic lion of Steyr within a large shield, with a period motor car vignette directly below; and the right panel shows a panoramic view of the city of Steyr with its characteristic rooftops and church towers. The denomination '50 HELLER' appears at the top centre, flanked by the inscriptions 'STADT' to the left and 'STEYR' to the right, all in bold block capitals. |
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| Comments |
Austrian municipal notgeld of this type was issued under economic conditions that made even small-denomination coinage practically unavailable — the postwar metal shortage had emptied local circulation of anything useful for everyday transactions. Steyr, an industrial city in Upper Austria with a long history in metalworking and arms manufacture, was among hundreds of municipalities that printed their own fractional scrip between 1919 and 1921 to fill the gap the central government couldn't.
The brown-ink designation distinguishes this from other color variants in the Steyr 50 Heller series, which were issued concurrently to discourage forgery through simple visual differentiation.