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50 Pfennig Archive Series - Issue 1: Karl V.
| Issuer | Mühlhausen (Thuringia), City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Left half occupied by a letterpress vignette in black ink showing a vaulted stone cellar doorway with heavy wooden door, steps descending into darkness, and a grotesque masked figure at the threshold; a caption panel below reads in Fraktur script: 'Stufen führen kellertief zu den Schätzen im Archiv.' The right half carries the denomination '50 Pfennig' in bold Fraktur lettering flanked by two heraldic shields in orange and black — the city arms of Mühlhausen at upper left and a chalice device at upper right — above the issuer inscription 'Notgeld der Stadt Mühlhausen Thür.' with an orange foliate chain ornament; lower text states redeemability at all municipal cashiers until 31 October 1921, dated 1 April 1921, with two facsimile signatures for Der Magistrat. Designer credit 'Entwurf v. M. E. Beyrer' appears in the lower left margin. |
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| Obverse lettering | 50 Pfennig Notgeld der Stadt Mühlhausen Thür. Einlösbar bei allen städt. Kassen, gültig bis 31. Oktober 1921. Mühlhausen Thür. den 1. 4. 1921. Der Magistrat. Stufen führen kellertief zu den Schätzen im Archiv. Entwurf v. M. E. Beyrer. Druck v. Chr. Gerlach, Mühlhausen i. Thür. |
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| Comments |
Mühlhausen's decision to invoke Karl V. for emergency currency was pointed — the city received its imperial free city charter under the Habsburgs, and local civic pride in that status ran deep even into the Weimar period. This note belongs to the first issue of a deliberate "archive series," meaning the municipality framed its Notgeld program as collectible civic history from the outset, not as a reluctant response to the small-change shortage of 1921.
Chr. Gerlach was a local Mühlhausen printer, and the relatively fine execution here reflects how seriously some Thuringian towns approached Notgeld design — Beyrer's involvement suggests a commissioned rather than stock approach.