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50 Pfennig
| Issuer | Stadtrat Karlstadt am Main |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Printer | J. Dietz, Karlstadt a. M., Germany |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is divided into three panels in a multicolour letterpress design. The left panel presents a vignette of the Karlstadt town gate with half-timbered buildings, surmounted by the denomination numeral '50' and the inscription 'Karlstadt' below. The central panel bears an arched vignette of Saint George on horseback slaying the dragon, labelled 'Sanct Georg', with the artist's signature 'Heinz Schiestl' at lower right; below the vignette runs a three-line validity notice and a red serial number. The right panel mirrors the left with a vignette of the Karlstadt church and town buildings, again flanked by the numeral '50' and the inscription 'am Main'. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is arranged in three vertical panels with a gold and red border. The central panel carries a fine-line vignette of the Karlstadt Rathaus (town hall) with its stepped gable facade, signed 'Heinz Schiestl inv.' at lower left; above and below the vignette runs a Latin inscription recording the town's founding year of 1422. At the lower centre a large circular red seal impression on a ribbon scroll reads 'Siegel des Bürger von Karlstadt'. The flanking panels each display two heraldic shields — one bearing blue fleurs-de-lis on a divided field and the other a Bavarian-style shield — framed by grapevine ornamental borders, with denomination cartouches '50 Sch' at each corner. |
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| Comments |
Karlstadt am Main issued this 50 Pfennig Notgeld at the height of Germany's small-change crisis, when coin metal had long since vanished from circulation and municipalities across the country were left to print their own stopgap currency. J. Dietz was a local Karlstadt printer — not a specialist security firm — which was entirely typical of Notgeld production in smaller Franconian towns where convenience outweighed counterfeiting concerns.
Heinz Schiestl, a Würzburg-based graphic artist with strong ties to the Bavarian Catholic arts revival, contributed designs to several Franconian Notgeld series during this period. His involvement elevates this note above purely utilitarian emergency scrip.