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50 Pfennig
| Issuer | Stadt Westerland (City of Westerland), Sylt, Germany |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse of this Notgeld voucher is divided into three decorative panels framed by scrollwork borders. The upper-left panel carries a red guilloche vignette with the bold numeral '50' over the denomination legend 'PFENNIG'. The central panel bears the town coat of arms with two fish above a circular vignette of a rocky coastal headland, encircled by the inscription 'WESTERLAND-SYLT 14. MÄRZ 1920', while the upper-right panel shows the Stadt-Wappen Westerland with a lighthouse amid waves. Below, the redemption text in ornate red Fraktur script reads across the full width of the note, with two manuscript signatures above the titles 'Bürgermeister' and 'Ratmann', and a serial number at lower right. |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a vivid multicolour letterpress composition centred on a sea scene in which the coiled body of the Midgard Serpent (Midgardwurm) rises from stormy waves beneath a group of flagpoles flying red-and-white banners. Denomination roundels reading '50 PFENNIG' in red on a wreath ground anchor the upper-left and upper-right corners. To the left, a scroll cartouche carries a four-line verse in Fraktur; to the right, a ribbon scroll bears the Westerland municipal arms and additional text, with the artist's signature 'H. Gundlach' visible at lower right of the central vignette. The printer's imprint 'BUCHDRUCKEREI CARL MEYER, WESTERLAND-SYLT.' appears in small capitals along the bottom margin. |
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Westerland's 1920 emergency issue belongs to the vast Notgeld wave that followed Germany's post-war coin shortage — small denominations had effectively vanished from circulation as metal was hoarded or had been consumed by wartime industry. Hundreds of German municipalities printed their own stopgap fractional notes, and most were designed with a collector market explicitly in mind, knowing tourism revenue could be extracted from the hobby as much as from genuine monetary need.
Printed locally by Buchdruckerei Carl Meyer on Sylt itself, this note never left the island economy far. Westerland's status as a North Sea resort town meant seasonal visitors were a ready absorber of such pieces.