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50 Pfennig
| Issuer | Stadt Eisenach (City of Eisenach) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Plain cream paper Notgeld issued by the municipal cashiers of Eisenach, dated 24 October 1918, with the denomination 'Fünfzig Pfennig' set in bold blackletter type at the top centre flanked by two circular medallion vignettes bearing an eagle device. The main text reads 'zahlen die städtischen kassen für diesen Gutschein' in Gothic script, with the issuing authority line 'Der Vorstand der Residenzstadt' and the city treasurer's designation 'Der Stadtkämmerer' accompanied by a manuscript signature and an applied circular official stamp at centre right. A validity clause at lower left states the note remains current for one month after notice in the Eisenacher Zeitungen, at the latest until 31 December 1919. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Dark blue-grey letterpress composition on a pale ground, divided into three vertical panels: the left panel bears a radiating sunrise vignette above a city skyline silhouette with vertical line-rule below; the right panel mirrors this arrangement with a further architectural silhouette; the broad central panel carries a bold silhouette of a standing armoured warrior figure holding a sword, rendered in the Expressionist graphic style typical of German Notgeld of the period, with the denomination '50 Pf' repeated in large figures to either side of the figure's head. A serial number in red is printed within a plain panel at the foot of the central field. |
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| Comments |
Eisenach's 1918 Notgeld issue came during the acute coin shortage that swept German municipalities in the final year of the war, when hoarding of metal coinage left ordinary commerce nearly paralyzed. Cities, towns, and even individual businesses were authorized to print their own emergency fractional currency — a patchwork solution that produced thousands of distinct local issues across Germany between 1916 and 1922.
Eisenach, in Thuringia, is best known internationally as Luther's birthplace and the site of the Wartburg castle, though neither detail has any bearing on this note's monetary function. The Stadt series was a purely practical instrument, and most denominations circulated hard enough that crisp survivors are genuinely uncommon.