80 Heller Krems

Krems an der Donau was among the hundreds of Austrian municipalities forced to print their own small-denomination emergency money — Notgeld — during the severe coin shortage that followed the collapse of the Habsburg economy after 1918. The 80 Heller denomination is slightly unusual; most Krems issues ran in rounder values, and the 80 Heller suggests a deliberate effort to cover specific pricing gaps in local trade.

By 1920 the Austrian Notgeld phenomenon had shifted from genuine necessity toward collector-driven series, and many municipalities were printing more than they needed for circulation. Whether this particular note was primarily utilitarian or partly speculative in its print run is difficult to establish.