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50 Pfennig
| Issuer | Stadt Bad Ems (Magistrat) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Pfennigs (50 Pfennige) (0.50) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed in red and black on white paper, the note carries the Gothic-script heading "Stadt Bad Ems" at top centre, flanked by two circular medallions each bearing the numeral "50" in bold black letterpress. The central field is filled with an elaborate red floral and foliate underprint, above which the city arms appear as a vignette; over this ground the denomination "Fünfzig Pfennig" is rendered in large black Gothic lettering. The issue date "Bad Ems, d. 18. Nov. 1918" appears at lower left alongside a red oval stamp of the Magistrat, while the authorising inscription "der Magistrat" with a manuscript signature occupies the right margin; the serial line "Gutschein Reihe I Nr." runs along the lower border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Dieser Gutschein hat Gültigkeit bis 31. Dez. 1919 Gültigkeit bis 31. Dezember 1920 verlängert. Ems Kränchen |
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| Comments |
Bad Ems notgeld was produced locally at a moment when the imperial coinage system had effectively collapsed under wartime metal shortages — by 1918, even small-denomination coins had been hoarded or melted, forcing thousands of German municipalities to issue their own emergency paper. H. Chr. Sommer was a local printer, not a security press, which is exactly what you'd expect from a resort town improvising with whatever trade printer was available.
Bad Ems had been a fashionable spa destination for European royalty for decades, which makes the mundane fiscal desperation of this piece an interesting contrast with the town's prewar reputation.