50 Pfennig

Mainz issued its own emergency paper in the early 1920s not simply because of postwar inflation but because Allied occupation had complicated normal currency flows — French and Belgian troops controlled the Rhineland bridgehead, and coin shortages were severe enough that municipal authorities across the occupied zone turned to locally printed Notgeld to keep daily commerce moving. The Stadt Mainz series belongs to that specific administrative moment, not the broader hyperinflation that peaked later in 1923.

Grabosch reference 860.1 distinguishes this from later printings in the series. Collectors should note that Mainz Notgeld from this period occasionally surfaces with slight tonal variations attributable to inconsistent paper stock — a known feature of local municipal print runs, not a sign of forgery.