Catalog
50 Mark Halle P.O.W. Camp
| Issuer | Kommandantur des Offizier-Gefangenenlagers Halle a. S. |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
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| Currency | Mark (1873-1923) |
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| Obverse description | Issued on yellow-orange coated cloth, the obverse is printed in black letterpress with the large diagonal legend 'Fünfzig Mark' across the centre field, accompanied by the numeral '50' at lower left. A serial number appears in a black-bordered box at upper centre, and a circular violet commandant's handstamp is applied at upper right. Validity and issuing authority inscriptions are arranged in smaller text to the right, with the disclaimer 'Kein öffentliches Zahlungsmittel.' underlined at the top. |
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| Obverse lettering | Kein öffentliches Zahlungsmittel. Ohne Kommandantur-Stempel ungültig. 50 Fünfzig Mark Gültig nur innerhalb des Lagers, sonst ohne jeden Wert. HALLE a. S., 1. Juni 1916. Kommandantur des Offizier-Gefangenenlagers. (Translation: Not legal tender. Invalid without the commandant's stamp. 50 Mark. Valid only within the camp, otherwise worthless. Halle a. S., June 1, 1916. Commandant's Office of the Officers' Prisoner-of-War Camp.) |
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| Comments |
Produced for use within the German officer prisoner-of-war camp at Halle an der Saale during the First World War, this piece belongs to a class of Lagergeld issued under direct military authority to control internal camp commerce and prevent hoarding of Reichsmark currency. The brown plastic-coated cloth construction is genuinely unusual — most German POW camp money of the period used paper or card. Cloth-based issues were produced in small quantities and are significantly more vulnerable to delamination and edge fraying than their paper counterparts, which accounts for their relative scarcity in collectible condition.