50 Pfennigs

Bielschowitz was a small industrial commune in Upper Silesia, its economy anchored to coal mining and the Ballestrem family estates. This note belongs to the first wave of municipal Kleingeldersatz issued in 1917, when the wartime hoarding of metal coinage — driven by both military procurement and civilian anxiety — had stripped small denominations almost entirely from daily commerce. Municipalities across Germany were left to print their own solutions.

J. P. Himmer in Augsburg was a logical choice for smaller Silesian municipalities lacking local print capacity. The firm handled a substantial volume of Notgeld contracts during this period.