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50 Pfennig Eifelverein
| Issuer | Eifelverein e.V., Ortsgruppe Speicher |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
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| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | The face is arranged in three vertical panels printed on a yellow and green ground: the two flanking panels each contain a bold numeral '50' above 'Pfennig' within ornamental scroll-and-tendril frames, while the central panel carries a circular portrait vignette of Dr. Ernst Dronke — the 'Eifelsvater' — set against a dark ground and flanked above by the dates '1837' and '1898'. Below the portrait, a ribbon cartouche bears the caption 'Eifelsvater Dr. Dronke', and a text band carries the redemption clause together with the issuance line 'Speicher, den 1.9.1921 / Eifelverein e.V. Ortsgruppe Speicher' accompanied by two manuscript signatures. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | MANDERSCHEID 50 Pfennig O Eifelland, so oft verkannt Lütckens Köln |
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| Comments |
The Eifelverein is a hiking and regional preservation society founded in 1888 — not a bank, not a municipality, not a wartime authority. That an organization of this kind was issuing its own emergency currency in 1921 speaks directly to how completely the German small-change shortage had broken down normal monetary channels in the post-WWI period. The Ortsgruppe Speicher was the local chapter serving the small Eifel town of Speicher, in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate.
Lütckens of Cologne produced a large volume of Notgeld for Rhenish issuers during this period. The 98 × 73 mm format is unusually large for a 50 Pfennig piece, suggesting this was designed as much for regional promotional purposes as for actual transactional use — Notgeld from cultural societies frequently crossed into collectible territory almost immediately upon issue.