Westphalia issued this notgeld piece during the catastrophic hyperinflation of 1923, when the Reichsmark's collapse forced regional and municipal authorities across Germany to produce emergency currency in whatever materials were available. Tombac — a brass alloy — was a practical choice when aluminum and zinc supplies were already strained. The denomination of 500 Mark, enormous by prewar standards, was already functionally trivial by mid-1923; within months, German currency would be denominated in the billions.
Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, the Westphalian poet honored here, died in 1848. Her appearance on a coin worth less than a postage stamp within weeks of issue is a peculiar footnote to the period.
Westphalia issued this notgeld piece during the catastrophic hyperinflation of 1923, when the Reichsmark's collapse forced regional and municipal authorities across Germany to produce emergency currency in whatever materials were available. Tombac — a brass alloy — was a practical choice when aluminum and zinc supplies were already strained. The denomination of 500 Mark, enormous by prewar standards, was already functionally trivial by mid-1923; within months, German currency would be denominated in the billions.
Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, the Westphalian poet honored here, died in 1848. Her appearance on a coin worth less than a postage stamp within weeks of issue is a peculiar footnote to the period.