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50 Pfennig Goethe Series - Goethehäuschen
| Issuer | Stadt Ilmenau (City of Ilmenau, Thuringia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
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| Value | 50 Pfennigs (50 Pfennige) (0.50) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A semicircular colour lithograph vignette occupies the upper portion, presenting the Goethehäuschen — a rustic timber hut on the Kickelhahn hillside — with a solitary figure seated before it and a panoramic mountain landscape receding into the distance; the scene is captioned 'Goethehäuschen' at lower right. Below the arch, a decorative cartouche bears the title 'Wandrers Nachtlied' in script, followed by the full text of Goethe's celebrated poem. The outer border throughout consists of a repeating foliate guilloche in green and red, with the denomination numeral '50' in circular cartouches at each upper corner. |
| Reverse lettering | 50 Goethehäuschen Wandrers Nachtlied. Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh, in allen Wipfeln spürest du kaum einen Hauch, Die Vögelein schweigen im Walde. Warte nur, balde ruhest du auch. Ilmenau, 1783. Goethe. |
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| Comments |
Ilmenau's claim on Goethe is specific and earned. He visited the town repeatedly between 1776 and 1831 in his capacity as a Weimar privy councillor overseeing the reopening of the Ilmenau silver and copper mines — a project that ultimately failed despite decades of effort. The Goethehäuschen on the Kickelhahn hill, a small timber shelter where he wrote the poem "Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh" in 1780, became one of the most venerated literary sites in the German-speaking world.
Like most Thuringian Notgeld of 1921, this note was issued primarily as a collector piece rather than to address any genuine small-change shortage. Wiedemannsche Druckerei in Saalfeld handled a substantial volume of regional Notgeld commissions during this period.