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50 Pfennig
| Issuer | Stadtmagistrat Lichtenfels (City of Lichtenfels in Oberfranken) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Tan guilloche underprint covers the entire field, with a floral-pattern border. The city title 'Stadt Lichtenfels a.M.' is set in Gothic blackletter script across the top. At centre, an oval cartouche encloses the municipal coat of arms of Lichtenfels surmounted by a mural crown, flanked on each side by a dark circular vignette bearing the denomination numeral '50'. Below the left vignette the date 'Lichtenfels / 1.Aug.1918' is printed, while below the right vignette the issuing authority 'Stadtmagistrat' appears alongside a manuscript signature. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse repeats the tan guilloche and floral-border underprint of the obverse. A serial number prefixed by 'No' is printed at upper centre. Two flanking dark circular vignettes carry the numeral '50'. At centre, a rectangular letterpress vignette presents a panoramic townscape of Lichtenfels with a church steeple rising above rooftops. The validity clause 'Gültig bis 1 Jahr nach Kriegsschluß' and the anti-counterfeiting warning 'Nachahmung strafbar' appear below the central vignette, with the printer's imprint 'GEBR. PARCUS, MÜNCHEN.' at the foot. The phrases 'Siegen oder brechen' and 'Siegen oder blechen' flank the serial number at the top. |
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| Comments |
Lichtenfels is a small town on the Main in Upper Franconia, and its Stadtmagistrat — the municipal governing body — issued this 50 Pfennig note in 1918 as part of the broader German Kleingeldersatz system, a nationwide response to the severe coin shortage caused by metal requisitioning during the war. Municipal authorities across Germany were authorized to fill the gap; thousands of distinct local issues resulted.
Gebrüder Parcus in Munich were among the more prolific printers of Bavarian Notgeld, producing issues for numerous Upper Franconian and Bavarian municipalities during 1917–1918. Their output was reliable and consistent, which is precisely why so many of these small-town issues survive in reasonably sound condition today.