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| Issuer | Stadtkasse Bodenwerder (City of Bodenwerder) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Pfennigs (50 Pfennige) (0.50) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black and ochre-yellow. The city name "Stadt Bodenwerder a.W." appears in bold Gothic blackletter script along the top margin. The central panel, framed by a dotted octagonal border with horizontal line underprint, carries the denomination inscription "Gut für Fünfzig Pfennig" in Gothic script. To each side, a vignette within a geometric octagonal frame shows a caricature figure of Baron von Münchhausen astride the numeral "50 Pf." in large ochre digits. The lower strip bears the issue date "den 1. Novbr. 1920", a serial number field, the redemption clause, and a manuscript signature over the text "Die Stadtsparkasse." |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | Anno 1287 Hieronymus v. Münchhausen Abenteuer 1720-1920 50 Ich ziehe aus dem Sumpf heraus Mich kühn bei meinem Zopf So komst Du aus der Kleingeldnot Hälst Du nur hoch den Kopf 50 |
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| Comments |
Bodenwerder is best known as the birthplace of Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen, the Hanoverian officer whose embellished war stories became the basis for the fictional Baron Munchausen tales. The town's notgeld issues from 1920 predictably leaned into that association — the Stadtkasse was not shy about exploiting local mythology for a piece of emergency currency that otherwise would have attracted no attention whatsoever.
Selmar Bayer of Berlin printed a significant volume of municipal notgeld during 1919–1921, largely anonymous contract work. The note's small format was entirely typical of the denomination class.