50 Pfennig

Schaala is a village so small it barely registers on regional maps — in 1921, its population numbered in the hundreds. That a municipality of this size issued its own emergency currency is less surprising than it might seem: the German Notgeld phenomenon of 1920–1922 produced thousands of local issues, many from communities issuing paper purely as collectibles sold to philatelists and numismatists, generating revenue rather than addressing any genuine cash shortage. Whether Schaala's motivation was practical or speculative is worth considering.

Lorsch & Nachbar of Rudolstadt printed a substantial share of Thuringian Notgeld during this period, being the nearest significant press to many small communities in the region.