50 Pfennig

Cologne's municipal government issued Notgeld in substantial quantities following the post-WWI coin shortage, and M. Dumont Schauberg — the city's own major newspaper and printing house, still operating on Breite Straße — was the natural choice for the work. Using a local commercial printer rather than a specialist security printer was common for small-denomination Notgeld, but it did leave these issues more vulnerable to counterfeiting than most municipal authorities cared to admit.

Cologne was under British occupation in 1920, adding an unusual administrative layer to local currency decisions. The city had to navigate Rhineland Commission oversight while still managing day-to-day exchange needs that the Reichsbank was in no position to address.