50 Pfennigs

Ellerbek was a small industrial commune on the western edge of Kiel, best known for its shipyard workers and proximity to the naval facilities that defined the region's economy. This note belongs to the vast wave of municipal Kleingeldersatz — small-change substitute currency — issued across Germany between 1918 and 1922, when coin metal was being hoarded and official fractional currency simply could not keep pace with demand at the local level.

The designer credit "Schreiber" almost certainly refers to one of the regional commercial printing firms operating under that name in northern Germany during this period, though precise attribution remains unconfirmed. Ellerbek's issues are not among the more commonly encountered Schleswig-Holstein notgeld, which suggests limited original print runs consistent with the commune's modest population.