Wittenberg's zinc notgeld issues of 1917 arrived at the height of Germany's wartime metal requisitions, when copper and nickel had long been redirected to munitions production. Municipal authorities across Germany were effectively forced into becoming emergency minters, and Wittenberg was among hundreds of cities that printed or struck their own provisional coinage simply to keep small change in circulation. The Funck reference numbers suggest at least two recognized die varieties for this type — subtle differences in spacing or lettering that catalogers have since distinguished as separate strikes from the same issuing period.
Wittenberg's zinc notgeld issues of 1917 arrived at the height of Germany's wartime metal requisitions, when copper and nickel had long been redirected to munitions production. Municipal authorities across Germany were effectively forced into becoming emergency minters, and Wittenberg was among hundreds of cities that printed or struck their own provisional coinage simply to keep small change in circulation. The Funck reference numbers suggest at least two recognized die varieties for this type — subtle differences in spacing or lettering that catalogers have since distinguished as separate strikes from the same issuing period.