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50 Pfennig
| Issuer | Stadt Saarburg (City of Saarburg), Rhine Province |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Pfennigs (50 Pfennige) (0.50) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a large central vignette of the Saarburg municipal coat of arms set within a circular guilloche underprint, showing a castle tower and fortifications with a red cross on a blue and white shield, topped by a crenellated crown; the artist's name MARTIN MENDSEN appears along the lower edge of the vignette. The denomination '50 PFENNIG' is printed in bold red numerals on both the left and right panels, flanking the central coat of arms, beneath the large black gothic lettering 'STADT-SAARBURG' across the top. Legal text citing §807 of the German Civil Code appears in the left panel, while the issuing authority 'SAARBURG (RHEINLAND) / DER BÜRGERMEISTER' with a manuscript signature appears in the right panel; the printer's imprint 'GEBR. PARCUS, MÜNCHEN.' runs along the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | STADT-SAARBURG 50 PFENNIG DIE RECHTE UND PFLICHTEN AUS DIESER URKUNDE REGELN SICH NACH §807 DES BÜRGERLICHEN GESETZBUCHES. 50 PFENNIG SAARBURG (RHEINLAND) DER BÜRGERMEISTER GEBR. PARCUS, MÜNCHEN. |
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| Comments |
Saarburg's 1922 Notgeld issue came at the peak of Germany's postwar small-change crisis, when municipal authorities across the Rhine Province were printing their own emergency currency because Reichsbank coinage had effectively vanished from circulation — hoarded, melted, or simply inadequate to the volume of transactions in an inflating economy. Gebrüder Parcus in Munich was one of the more prolific Notgeld printers of the period, handling commissions from hundreds of municipalities simultaneously.
Martin Mendsen's involvement as designer is worth noting — Parcus regularly employed named artists for collectible-grade Notgeld, as by 1922 the secondary market for series sets was already substantial enough to influence print runs.