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50 Pfennig Vorschuß- und Sparverein
| Issuer | Vorschuß- und Sparverein zu Ostheim v. d. Rhön, eingetragene Genossenschaft mit unbeschränkter Haftpflicht |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse carries a finely executed line-engraved townscape vignette of Ostheim v. d. Rhön, centred on the church with its distinctive onion-domed steeple rising above the rooftops of half-timbered houses and medieval towers. The label 'Kirche' appears in the upper left corner, while the bold denomination '50 Pf.' is printed in the upper right. The illustration is rendered in dark brown ink on a pale ground without a border frame. |
| Reverse lettering | Kirche 50 Pf. |
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| Comments |
Ostheim vor der Rhön sits on what was, in 1918, the border between the Prussian province of Hessen-Nassau and the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen — a small market town with no particular monetary clout. The note was issued not by a municipality or savings bank but by a registered cooperative with unlimited liability, the local credit union, which tells you something about how badly small change had dried up by the final year of the war. Pfennig coinage had effectively vanished from circulation, hoarded or melted, and thousands of such Notgeld issues filled the void.
Selmar Bayer in Berlin handled enormous volumes of this emergency small-denomination printing for cooperatives and merchants across Germany.