50 Reichspfennig Lagergeld

Lagergeld — literally "camp money" — was a scrip currency issued by the Wehrmacht high command for use within prisoner-of-war camps, legally required under Article 24 of the 1929 Geneva Convention, which obligated detaining powers to pay working POWs and provide a means for them to purchase canteen goods. The system was designed to prevent prisoners from accumulating Reichsmarks, which could fund escapes.

These notes were printed in multiple denominations and used across camps throughout occupied Europe. They were worthless outside the wire and non-redeemable after liberation — which is precisely why so many survivors kept them.