Grünhain issued this cardboard Notgeld piece in 1916, when the German war economy had stripped municipal circulation of virtually all small metal coinage — copper and nickel being redirected toward shell casings and military hardware. Hundreds of small Saxon towns resorted to paper and pressed cardboard to keep local commerce functioning, with each municipality designing and authorizing its own emergency issues independently.
Grünhain itself was a minor Saxon town, its economy historically tied to a medieval Cistercian abbey. The Funck and Menzel references place this among the documented series, though cardboard survivorship is inherently uneven.
Grünhain issued this cardboard Notgeld piece in 1916, when the German war economy had stripped municipal circulation of virtually all small metal coinage — copper and nickel being redirected toward shell casings and military hardware. Hundreds of small Saxon towns resorted to paper and pressed cardboard to keep local commerce functioning, with each municipality designing and authorizing its own emergency issues independently.
Grünhain itself was a minor Saxon town, its economy historically tied to a medieval Cistercian abbey. The Funck and Menzel references place this among the documented series, though cardboard survivorship is inherently uneven.