50 Pfennig - Bad Reichenhall

Bad Reichenhall issued this zinc notgeld piece in 1918 as the imperial war economy stripped municipalities of copper and nickel for shell casings and industrial use. The town, long dependent on salt extraction and nascent alpine tourism, had no reliable access to Reichsbank coin by the final year of the war. Zinc was the material of last resort — corrodes readily, strikes poorly, and was despised by the public — which partly explains why survivors in collectible condition are harder to find than their mintages would suggest.