50 Pfennig

Saarburg, a small Rhine Province town better known for its waterfall than its finances, joined the wave of German municipal emergency currency — Notgeld — that peaked in 1921 as hyperinflationary pressures made small Reichsmark coinage effectively disappear from daily commerce. The city commissioned Gebrüder Parcus of Munich, a firm that handled a substantial volume of decorative Notgeld work during this period and produced notably clean lithographic results compared to many provincial printers.

Martin Mendgen, the designer credited here, was a local Saarburg figure rather than a commercial illustrator — an unusual choice that gives the series a degree of regional authenticity rare in Notgeld, where generic scenic commissions were common. The reference number DeNG 2#1156.1-6/6 indicates this is the sixth variant of six in the series.