50 Pfennig - Waldsee

Waldsee's 1918 zinc notgeld issues emerged from the same wartime metal shortage that stripped German circulation of its silver and copper coinage — both metals commandeered for munitions production under increasingly desperate Reich requisition orders. Municipal and district bodies across Baden and Württemberg were left to fill the gap themselves, with whatever material remained available.

Zinc was the default of last resort, notoriously difficult to strike cleanly and prone to oxidation in circulation.