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50 Pfennig Rudelsburg
| Issuer | Bad Kösen, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 93 × 65 mm |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is divided into three vignette panels in a colourful letterpress design: at left, a hiker in profile with a walking stick and rucksack; at centre, a view of Castle Rudelsburg set among green hills and clouds; at right, a woman in a red dress viewed from behind, gazing into the distance. The denomination '50' appears in large figures at lower left and lower right, flanking the central text panel which carries the fourth verse of the Saale river song in German script. The printer's imprint 'Druck: Eduard Giltsch-Jena' appears at the foot of the note, with validity and issuing authority inscriptions along the lower border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse carries a central colour vignette of two figures in period dress — one in red, one in yellow-green — seated within a Romanesque arched window overlooking a river landscape, evoking a romantic medieval scene consistent with the Saale valley setting. The denomination '50' appears in large red figures at lower left and lower right. Decorative Art Nouveau-style floral border panels in blue and red frame the composition on both sides, each surmounted by a stylised rose motif. |
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| Comments |
Bad Kösen sits on the Saale in Saxony-Anhalt, and this note is part of the vast Notgeld output that flooded Germany between 1919 and 1922 — but the choice of handmade paper with watermark security, printed by Eduard Giltsch of Jena, puts it a cut above the purely ephemeral issues churned out during the same period. Giltsch was primarily known as an academic and scientific printer, which makes the commission mildly unusual.
The Rudelsburg reference in the name ties the note to the ruined medieval castle above the Saale valley, a site that had become heavily loaded with German nationalist and student fraternity associations by the early twentieth century.