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50 Heller Wolfern
| Issuer | Gemeinde Wolfern (Municipality of Wolfern) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Printed in brown on buff paper, the obverse is framed by a dotted border with lace-like ornamental medallions at each corner. The issuer's name appears in an oval cartouche at centre top reading 'WOLFERN', surmounted by the legend 'Gutschein der Gemeinde' and the regional designation 'Ober-Österr.' The denomination is stated in large letterpress text as 'Fünfzig 50 Heller' across the centre, below which a three-line guarantee text reads 'Die Gemeinde Wolfern haftet für die Verbindlichkeit mit ihrem gesamten Gemeinde-Vermögen', followed by the mayor's facsimile signature above the printed text 'Der Bürgermeister'. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse carries a central intaglio-style vignette of the Wolfern parish church with its steeple, surrounded by trees and village buildings, enclosed within an oval wreath-like border of decorative foliage and geometric ornaments. Large numeral '50' appears in the left and right margins within the ornamental border, repeated in each corner of the elaborate scrollwork frame. The upper legend reads 'Gutschein der Gemeinde Wolfern' and the lower margin bears the anti-counterfeiting warning and validity date. |
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| Comments |
Wolfern is a small parish commune in Upper Austria, and its decision to issue notgeld in 1920 places this squarely in the second wave of Austrian municipal emergency money — the so-called "Verkehrsnotgeld" phase, driven not by wartime metal shortages but by a genuine scarcity of small-denomination coins in everyday retail circulation. The postwar Austrian state was in no position to supply adequate coinage, so hundreds of municipalities filled the gap themselves.
Emil Prietzel operated out of nearby Steyr, and his press handled notgeld commissions for numerous Upper Austrian communes during this period. A local printer serving local issuers — the logistics were purely practical.