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75 Pfennig
| Issuer | Gemeinde Bilsen (Municipality of Bilsen) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Orange and black Notgeld note with an elaborate hand-drawn calligraphic border of interlocking loops and diagonal hatching enclosing a central orange cartouche. The denomination numeral '75' appears at the top centre within a decorative scrollwork surround, flanked by 'Pf' abbreviations at either side. The cartouche carries the issuer inscription 'NOTGELD DER GEMEINDE BILSEN / AMTSBEZIRK HEMDINGEN' in bold letterpress, with the validity clause 'DIESER SCHEIN VERLIERT SEINE GÜLTIGKEIT AM 31. DEZEMBER 1921' below, followed by manuscript signature lines for the Finanzausschuss and Amtsvorsteher, a handwritten serial number in red, and the printer's imprint 'KONRAD HANF HAMBURG 8' at the foot. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Im Wald und auf der Heide Da such ich meine Freude Ich bin ein Jägersmann Ich bin ein Jägersmann |
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| Comments |
Bilsen is a small village in Schleswig-Holstein, and its 1921 Notgeld issue belongs to the second wave of German municipal emergency currency — the so-called "Serienscheine" period, when tiny communities discovered that collectors, not locals, were the real market. Konrad Hanf of Hamburg was a reliable workhorse printer for northern German Notgeld, producing runs for dozens of small municipalities across the region during this period.
Whether Bilsen ever intended serious circulation is doubtful. Many issues of this type were printed in quantities calibrated to philatelic demand, redeemed almost immediately, and exist today in uncirculated condition precisely because they were never spent.