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50 Pfennig
| Issuer | Magistrat Gernrode im Harz |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
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| Printer | Louis Koch, Halberstadt, Germany |
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| Obverse description | Olive-green letterpress note with a bold ruled border framing the entire design. The denomination numeral '50' appears in large outline figures at the left and right, flanking a central text block carrying a four-line poetic verse in German script followed by the issuer's validity clause, date '9. Mai 1921', and the magistrate's manuscript signature. A serial number in a lined cartouche occupies the lower left, while a banner at the foot reads 'LUFTKURORT GERNRODE-HARZ' in bold capitals. The printer's imprint 'LOUIS KOCH · HALBERSTADT' appears below the lower border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse carries a central vignette of the Romanesque collegiate church of St. Cyriakus in Gernrode, rendered in fine line illustration in olive-green tones. The denomination numeral '50' appears to either side of the vignette, with the issuer inscription arched above and below within a ruled rectangular border. |
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| Comments |
Gernrode im Harz issued this note during the acute coin shortage that followed Germany's post-WWI economic disruption — Kleingeldersatz, small-change substitutes, flooded the country in the early 1920s as municipal authorities stepped in where the Reichsbank could not. Louis Koch was a regional Halberstadt printer with no particular distinction in the notgeld trade, which is common for issues from smaller Harz towns that contracted locally rather than turning to the Leipzig or Berlin specialist firms.
Gernrode itself had a population well under 5,000 at the time. Issues from towns this small were often printed in modest quantities and redeemed quickly, though survival rates vary considerably.