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50 Pfennig
| Issuer | Oberammergau, Municipality of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
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| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries a central oval vignette with a detailed landscape view of the village of Oberammergau set against an Alpine backdrop, framed by an ornate wreath of stylized foliage. Large denomination numerals '50' appear at the lower left and right, with the word 'PFENNIG' inscribed along the upper border flanking a guilloche underprint in red-orange. Two signature blocks appear at the lower left and right, each preceded by the title '1. BÜRGERMEISTER' and '2. BÜRGERMEISTER' respectively, with handwritten signatures below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents three vignettes in a horizontal arrangement: two circular portrait medallions at left and right, each within a decorative surround, flanking a central theatrical scene rendered in fine line engraving showing the Crucifixion as performed in the Oberammergau Passion Play, set beneath a draped stage canopy. Denomination numerals 'Pf. 50' appear at the lower left and right corners within ornate cartouches. The printer's imprint is set along the bottom margin, and banner inscriptions at the upper left and right identify the depicted personalities. |
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| Comments |
Brendamour, Simhart & Co. were among the better Munich printing houses handling Bavarian notgeld commissions in the early 1920s, and their work for Oberammergau shows it — the firm had the lithographic capability to produce the kind of pictorial small-change scrip that collector demand was already driving by 1921. Oberammergau's municipal notgeld was issued partly as a practical response to the coin shortage and partly as a deliberate souvenir vehicle; the village had long understood how to monetize its international reputation.
The Passion Play connection made these notes unusually attractive to foreign visitors, and substantial quantities were absorbed into collections rather than redeemed — a known pattern with Oberammergau issues that kept net redemption figures low.