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METAL GERMAN NOTGELD COINS

Notgeld coins were struck for over 600 communities and companies in Germany between 1916 and 1922, though many are not dated.  Most are in denominated from 5 to 50 Pfennig. Typically the city arms or landmark is on one side and the denomination is on the other.  They were usually struck zinc or iron, both of which corrode easily, so the coins often are spotted or rusted.

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SMALL COLORFUL GERMAN NOTGELD NOTES

These small paper Notgeld notes were initially issued by towns during World War I to provide for small change. Most were denominated 1 Mark or less and are usually less than 4 inches (90mm) long.  By 1921 most notes were being made to sell to collectors and the designs became increasingly colorful. The issues ceased after 1922 with the collapse of the German economy.  The colorful notes are a fun and popular collectible.  They have a wide variety of themes, including fairy tales, local history, monuments, and political satire. They will make an interesting addition to your collection.

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During the collapse of the German economy following World War I, some towns and even a few companies issued notgeld coins made from porcelain. One of the first porcelain coins was a 50 Pfennig from the city of Gotha dated 1920.  It was manufactured by the local F. Pfeffer Porcelain Works utilizing an unusual clay containing mainly quartz, kaolin and feldspar, resulting in blue-gray colored coin that were called “quartz coins” in the area. The coins were fragile and chipped easily.  The coin pictures a bishop, which appears on the town’s arms. About the same time the famed Meissen porcelain works began producing porcelain coins for a number of towns.  They were usually made from red or white porcelain and were stronger and better made than the Gotha issue.  The Meissen issues carry the crossed swords "hallmark" as a mintmark.  We offer a selection of these issues from various towns dated 1921 or 1922 with denominations from 10 Pfennig to 5 Marks.  The exact coins sent will depend on what we have in stock. We also have an unusual corporate porcelain coin issued by Friedrich Wolff, who was a Jewish typewriter merchant in Dresden.  The head of a wolf is featured on the 27mm brown porcelain 20 Pfennig coin.  The undated coin carries the Meissen hallmark and was probably produced in 1921 or 1922, when a typewriter was the ultimate in office technology.

Because of the severe inflation that followed World War I, prices were rising faster than the German government could print money.  Many towns and companies resorted to printing their own currency.  This 100 Mark note was issued by the City of Gotha, Germany.  It is dated September 30, 1922.  It is a simple, uniface note that pictures a bishop from the town’s arms. 

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HIGH DENOMINATION GERMAN NOTGELD NOTES

By late 1922, inflation was racing out of control in Germany.  The German government could not print money fast enough to keep up with the ever soaring prices.  Companies started printing their own money in order to pay workers.  Municipalities also issued their own currency to provide cash for the local economy.  All of this only helped make inflation worse by increasing the money supply.  We offer a sets of these inflation notgeld notes, ranging in value from 100,000 Marks to billions (milliarden) of Marks, dated 1922 or 1923.  They are full-sized notes and grade Fine to XF.