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50 Pfennigs
| Issuer | Städtische Sparkasse Geestemünde |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in dark navy blue on a warm yellow-ochre ground within a double ruled border, the reverse is dominated by a central portrait vignette executed in an expressionist woodcut manner, showing a bald elderly man with a prominent white walrus moustache in military uniform with epaulettes — a stylised likeness of Otto von Bismarck. A facsimile signature 'v. Bismarck' is set immediately below the portrait, and a bold Fraktur inscription at the foot of the note carries the patriotic quotation attributed to Bismarck. |
| Reverse lettering | v. Bismarck Wir Deutschen fürchten Gott, sonst nichts in der Welt! |
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| Comments |
Geestemünde was a port city on the Weser estuary that merged with neighboring Lehe and Bremerhaven in 1924 to form a single municipality — meaning the Städtische Sparkasse that issued this note ceased to exist as an independent institution within four years of printing it. The 1920 date places this squarely in Germany's post-WWI small-change crisis, when coin metal was hoarded and municipal savings banks across the country were authorized to issue their own Notgeld to keep local commerce moving.
Franz Scherrer of Hannover was a mid-tier regional printer responsible for a significant volume of Niedersachsen Notgeld output during this period. Unremarkable as a printer, but consistent.