Alsfeld issued this iron notgeld piece in 1917, when the German war economy had stripped conventional coinage metals so thoroughly that municipalities across the Reich were authorized to produce their own emergency currency. Iron was the compromise — cheap, abundant, and deeply unglamorous. The city of Alsfeld, a small Hessian market town, was among hundreds of such issuers scrambling to keep small-denomination transactions functional as silver and nickel disappeared into the war machine.
The Funck and Menzel references index four known varieties for this type, suggesting die or production differences across the issue run — a detail worth cross-referencing against the specific piece in hand.
Alsfeld issued this iron notgeld piece in 1917, when the German war economy had stripped conventional coinage metals so thoroughly that municipalities across the Reich were authorized to produce their own emergency currency. Iron was the compromise — cheap, abundant, and deeply unglamorous. The city of Alsfeld, a small Hessian market town, was among hundreds of such issuers scrambling to keep small-denomination transactions functional as silver and nickel disappeared into the war machine.
The Funck and Menzel references index four known varieties for this type, suggesting die or production differences across the issue run — a detail worth cross-referencing against the specific piece in hand.