German Notgeld

German Notgeld, meaning emergency or necessity money, comprises substitute currency produced during economic and political crises when insufficient official money was supplied by the central bank. Produced without sanction from central government, it was issued by town savings banks, municipalities, and private or state-owned firms, as well as local businesses and clubs. While functioning as mutually accepted regional tender, certain issues were scrip redeemable only at specific establishments.

Issues first appeared in July 1914 prior to the outbreak of the First World War due to coin hoarding, recurring in 1916 when base metals were diverted to war supplies. Divided by Dr Arnold Keller into Kleingeldscheine for values below one mark and Grossgeldscheine for one mark and higher, this phase lasted until 1919. In 1920 and 1921, issuing bodies produced colourful collector series known as Serienscheine well after economic necessity had passed. During the hyperinflation of 1922 and 1923, Notgeld returned in rapidly climbing denominations up to trillions of marks, before shifting to commodity-denominated Wertbeständige notes based on goods such as wheat, coal, or electricity until central issuance ceased in November 1923.

Although predominantly printed on paper, Notgeld was also produced as coins and in unconventional materials including leather, silk, linen, wood, aluminium foil, coal, sulfur, and playing cards. Struck in Meissen, Saxony, porcelain pieces were made from white porcelain or red Böttger stoneware and were sometimes partly gilt. Designs ranged from early typewritten notes to professional pictorial prints depicting civic architecture, regional folklore, and political themes. Nearly all pieces bore an expiry date, though Serienscheine sets were frequently distributed with their validity periods already expired.