Question for you Notgeld experts et al.

JohnZ

Are any Notgeld issues, whether tokens or bills, considered to be officially Polish?

Many towns that issued Notgeld are now within Poland's borders. Would their issues be considered Polish in any way?

Were any Notgeld printed or minted with Polish inscriptions?

JohnZ

Well, looks like I'm starting to answer my own question. I just found a huge collection of Polish Notgeld here.

Still looking for coinage though. It would be nice to have some of those bills, but I'm not really a bill collector.

Is it even called Notgeld if it's not specifically German?

JohnZ

Here's an interesting list. German towns that issued Notgeld that are now Polish.

Allenstein Olsztyn
Angerburg Wegorzewo
Bialla Biala Piska
Breslau Wroclaw
Brockau Brockow
Custrin Kostrzyn
Danzig Gdansk
Freiburg Swiebodzice
Freienwalde Chociwel
Glogau Glogow
Goldap Goldap
Gottesberg Boguszow
Graudenz Grudziadz
Greiffenberg Gryfow Slaski
Grunberg Zielona Gora
Hirschberg Jelenia
Hohenfriedeberg Dobromierz
Johannisburg Pisz
Kandrzin-Pogorzelletz Kedzierzyn
Katscher Kietrz
Kattowitz Katowice
Klodnitz-Oderhafen Klodnica
Koeben Chobienia
Konstadt Wolczyn
Kreuzburg Kluczbork
Kudowa, Bad Kudowa Zdroj
Kunzendorf Konczyce
Lahn Wlen
Leobschultz Glubczyce
Lyck Elk
Neidenburg Nidzica
Neurode Nowa Ruda
Neustettin Szczecinek
Nikolai Mikolow
Ober Salzbrunn Szczawno Zdroj
Oberglogau Glogowek
Oels Olesnica
Plathe Ploty
Przyschetz Przysiecz
Pyritz Pyrzyce
Schneidemuhl Pila
Soldin Mysliborz
Sorau Zary
Stolp Slupsk
Striegau Strzegom
Swinemunde Swinoujscie
Tarnowitz Tarnowskie Gory
Trebnitz Trzebinia
Xions Ksiaz
Zuelz Biala Prudnicka

Refrema

I have a complete collection of Notgeld from Schleswig-Holstein. This part of Germany held plebiscites to determine where the final borders would be after WWI. Most of these notes are full of Propaganda in German or Danish, for both sides of the issue, and they make a very interesting set. Many of the German notes have Danish flags on them either being walked on, or being held high depending on their view.

Notgeld Link This is a very good company with a large quantity of images covering Notgeld. It is all sorted by Town or Village, and you might want a map from that period to identify the towns, since there have been so many changes. The Linderman book is the Bible about these, but it is in German, and has very few images. I am not sure about the polish borders, but if it was like the Danish border you might have fun with it.

Good Luck,

Bob

JohnZ

Thank you Refrema. That site is quite extensive. For anyone that wants it, here is the page of towns in alphabetical order.

JohnZ

I still can't find any Notgeld, paper or coin, that has any Polish inscriptions. Gonna keep looking.

Don't mind me folks, I'm just having my own little party here.

JohnZ

Well now, here's an interesting bill I just ran across. It doesn't qualify as Notgeld as it was issued by the German Empire in Poznan. I wonder if this bill is anyway related to the German Empire Military Kopeks of 1916. I recognize the Polish inscriptions on the reverse, but there are several other languages I don't recognize. Is the other text Lithuanian perhaps? Hmmmm.

Askari

Notgeld simply means "emergency money" and it has become the general nickname for these types of currency and coins, no doubt because Germany was the largest issuer, followed by Austria -- both producing tens of thousands of issues. Krause publishes a guide by Courtney L. Coffing titled A Guide & Checklist of World Notgeld, 1914-1947 (And Other Local Issue Emergency Monies); the 2nd Edn. (2000) is the latest, I believe, and listed for $30. It identifies issuers in many countries and the various types of Notgeld they issued. It's rather short on pics, unfortunately, and not one I find myself reaching for very often.

The most popular reference on German Notgeld is the (now) 2-volume Deutsches Notgeld: Deutsche Serienscheine 1918-1922 (Vol. I covering A-K, and Vol. II L-Z), which is published by Hans L. Grabowski and the late Manfred Mehl. When you see "M-series" catalog numbers, this is the reference for them. It went to two volumes to include more color pictures and also attempts to incorporate material from the more authoritative, but dated, work by Kai Lindman ("L-series" catalog numbers) Serienscheine -- which is also sparse on pics other than B&W prints of some of the rarest specimens.

To find Polish language Notgeld, you will have to look for those issued by Polish cities (not at all easy to find) or the Polish Plebiscite issues. I have 4 Polish Notgeld notes: the 1914 1 & 3 Rubli "Saturn" notes from Sosnowice [Jablonski #1630], a 1921 50 Fenigow/Pfennig note from Mikolow [Jablonski #2488], and a 1921 50 Fenigow/Pfennig note from Gmina Bismarkhuta [Jablonski #????]. I have sets of the Polish Plebiscite from Johannisburg (now Pisz, Poland) [M 662.1], Marggrabowa (Olecko, Poland) [M 868], Marienburg (Malbork, Poland) [M 870.1], Oberglogau (Glogówek, Poland) [M 994], Przyschetz (Przysiecz, Poland) [M 1080.2].

The German note you showed is an occupation note issued by the German Ostbank – Lithuania (Poznan) issued in April 1916; these were denominated in Rubel & Kopeken. More truly Polish were the occupation notes issued by the Polish State Loan Bank in 1916-17, but these were denominated in Marki.

JohnZ

Thanks Askari. I've also gotten a lot of informative PM's from Jester and Refrema on the matter. Thank you to all!

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1jester

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