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50 Pfennig
| Issuer | City of Frankenstein in Schlesien (Ząbkowice Śląskie), Magistrat |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Notgeld voucher printed in brown and black on plain paper, with a decorative border of repeated geometric ornaments framing the entire note. The heading in bold Gothic blackletter script reads "Frankensteiner Notgeld" across the top, below which the denomination "Fünfzig Pfennig" is set in large red letterpress type over a central vignette of the numeral "50" in an ornamental underprint. The lower left corner carries a small vignette of the Frankenstein town coat of arms with a tower and city walls, while the lower right corner repeats the numeral "50" in a decorative cartouche; three manuscript signatures of municipal officials appear above the validity clause. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in warm ochre-brown on white paper, bordered by a fine guilloche ornamental frame. Two vignettes of Frankenstein architectural landmarks flank a central panel: on the left, a view of a Gothic church tower and street scene, and on the right, a view of another prominent church with a tall spire. The central panel bears the large numeral "50" in dark red over the word "Anseit" (or similar legend), with a serial number printed in the lower left of the left vignette panel. A text legend curves along the upper and lower margins within the decorative border. |
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| Comments |
Frankenstein in Schlesien — now Ząbkowice Śląskie in southwestern Poland — was one of hundreds of German municipalities that issued Notgeld during the postwar inflationary chaos when the Reichsbank could not supply sufficient small-denomination coinage. The city's name, predating Mary Shelley's novel by centuries, was a persistent curiosity for collectors long before the region changed hands after World War II.
These municipal emissions of 1920 carry no guarantee beyond the issuing Magistrat's local authority. Redemption depended entirely on the issuing town remaining solvent — which many did not.