Catalog
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| Issuer | Bad Kösen, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central vignette of the Rudelsburg castle ruins rendered in a woodcut-style multicolour print, with a tall keep at upper left and crumbling walls extending to the right, surrounded by lush foliage against a pale blue sky. Symmetrical Art Nouveau-style border panels in dark green and black flank the central image on left and right, each incorporating a stylised red rose bloom at top and bottom. The denomination '50' is printed in bold red numerals at lower left and right corners, and a line of verse in Gothic script runs along the bottom edge. |
| Reverse lettering | Ihre Dächer sind zerfallen 50 |
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| Comments |
Bad Kösen's 50 Pfennig Notgeld from 1921 was issued during Germany's acute small-change shortage, when municipal authorities across the country were authorized — effectively forced — to plug the gap left by hoarded metal coinage. Eduard Giltsch in Jena was a reliable regional printer for this kind of work, supplying a number of Thuringian communities during the same period.
The Rudelsburg, a ruined 12th-century castle above the Saale valley, gave this note its name and its collector appeal. Notgeld from scenic spa towns like Bad Kösen was frequently printed with tourism in mind — municipalities knew that collectors would absorb quantities that never returned for redemption, effectively a subsidy on the issue.