50 Pfennig - Wattenscheid

Wattenscheid issued this iron notgeld piece in 1920 as the postwar metal shortage and monetary chaos left municipalities across the Ruhr scrambling to fill the gap left by hoarded or melted coinage. Iron was a practical if unglamorous substitute — abundant in an industrial district built around coal and steel, but prone to rust, which explains why uncorroded survivors are harder to locate than the mintage figures alone would suggest.