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50 Pfennig - Köln; Officer PoW Camp
| Issuer | Offizier-Gefangenenlager Köln am Rhein (Officer Prisoner-of-War Camp Cologne) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1918 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Pfennigs (50 Pfennige) (0.50) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | OFFIZIER-GEFANGENENLAGER KÖLN A.RH. GUT FÜR 50 PFENNIG DER KOMMANDANT: Köln am Rhein 1. Oktober 1918 KEIN OFFENTLICHES ZAHLUNGSMITTEL M. DuMont Schauberg, Köln. (Translation: Officer prisoner-of-war camp Cologne on Rhine. Good for 50 pfennigs. The commandant. Cologne on Rhine. October 1st, 1918. Not legal tender for public use.) |
| Reverse description | The reverse repeats the same letterpress-printed layout as the obverse, rendered in black on an identical blue and yellow guilloche underprint with symmetrical '50' numerals and central rosette, indicating this note was printed identically on both sides. The printer's imprint 'M. DuMont Schauberg, Köln.' appears at the foot of the note. |
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| Comments |
Offizier-Gefangenenlager notes occupy an unusual corner of First World War notgeld — these were not emergency currency for the civilian public but internal scrip issued for use within a specific prisoner-of-war facility. The Cologne officer camp held Allied officers, and this 50 Pfennig piece functioned as canteen money, insulating the camp's internal economy from the broader currency shortages gripping Germany in the final year of the war.
M. DuMont Schauberg, the Cologne press that produced this note, was one of the Rhineland's major commercial printing houses — better known for newspaper work than wartime scrip. The contract was local and logistically convenient.