80 Heller Schönau

Schönau — likely Schönau im Schwarzwald or one of several Austrian communes sharing the name — issued this 80 Heller note as part of the Notgeld wave that swept German-speaking municipalities between 1919 and 1922, when the postwar coin shortage made small-denomination paper unavoidable at the local level. Three signatories on a village-issued emergency note is not unusual; it reflects the communal council structure, where the Bürgermeister and two Gemeinderäte were typically required to authenticate instruments of this type.

The 80 Heller denomination is an odd one — most series clustered around 10, 20, 50, and 75 Heller — suggesting this value was calculated against a specific local pricing need rather than issued as part of a conventional set.