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50 Pfennig Handelskammer
| Issuer | Handelskammer Harburg (Chamber of Commerce Harburg) |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 76.7 × 50.0 mm |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed in orange with black line-work on a white ground, the reverse centres on an oval vignette enclosed by decorative foliate borders, showing a steam vessel moored at the Harburg harbour with industrial cranes and port facilities in the background, rendered in a precise woodcut-style illustrative technique. The denomination '50' appears in large Gothic numerals at each of the four corners, with the title 'Gutschein über 50 Pfennig' arching across the upper portion of the note. At the lower centre, within a cartouche, the issuer inscription 'DIE HANDELSKAMMER HARBURG (ELBE)' is printed in bold upright lettering. |
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| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | No watermark. |
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| Comments |
Harburg's Chamber of Commerce issued its own emergency currency during the post-WWI Notgeld period, a common but locally specific response to the acute small-denomination coin shortage that plagued German commercial life between roughly 1917 and 1922. The Handelskammer issues were backed by the chamber's institutional authority rather than a municipal government — a subtle but meaningful distinction that placed commercial creditors, not civic administrators, behind the guarantee.
The watermarked paper is worth noting; many Notgeld issues at this level dispensed with security features entirely. Its presence here suggests the chamber ordered from a printer with access to security stock, or specified it deliberately to discourage local counterfeiting.