Andreas Macher was a master mason (*Maurermeister*) operating in Nürnberg who issued this zinc notgeld token during the acute small-change shortage that gripped Germany in the early 1920s. Tradespeople and small businesses across Bavaria routinely commissioned their own emergency issues when municipal supplies ran short, bypassing official channels entirely. The zinc composition was a practical choice — metal was cheap, stamping dies were available locally, and the tokens rarely needed to survive more than a few weeks of use before redemption.
Andreas Macher was a master mason (*Maurermeister*) operating in Nürnberg who issued this zinc notgeld token during the acute small-change shortage that gripped Germany in the early 1920s. Tradespeople and small businesses across Bavaria routinely commissioned their own emergency issues when municipal supplies ran short, bypassing official channels entirely. The zinc composition was a practical choice — metal was cheap, stamping dies were available locally, and the tokens rarely needed to survive more than a few weeks of use before redemption.