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50 Pfennig - Olpe
| Issuer | Olpe, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 1.5 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The central field features the large bold numeral 50, dominating the coin's face as the denomination indicator. The circular legend NOTGELD 1920 arcs along the upper periphery, with the date 1920 following immediately after the word NOTGELD. The word PFENNIG curves along the lower periphery, flanked on each side by a five-pointed star serving as a decorative separator. The overall design is plain and typographic, emphasizing the emergency currency denomination in a clear and direct manner. |
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| Additional information |
Olpe's 1920 zinc notgeld issue belongs to the wave of municipal emergency coinage that flooded Germany following the postwar metal shortages and the Allied restrictions on centralized coin production. Smaller Westphalian towns like Olpe were left to fend for themselves, contracting local or regional manufacturers to strike functional small change from whatever base metals were available.
Zinc was the unsentimental choice — cheap, workable, and already familiar from wartime substitute coinage.