Collecting Notgeld

Notgeld, also known as emergency money, is a fun and inexpensive collection to make. This page will focus on the banknotes, although Notgeld were also issued as coins. These banknotes are colorful and feature many interesting topics for collectors. Their popularity has increased over the last 20 years but they are still affordable. I am a collector (I collect mostly the Serienscheine) and will show you some of my collection as well as some pointers and basic information for those who want to collect and buy Notgeld. I am not a specialist, but you will find many links to the resources and websites.

Unless otherwise noted, all the banknotes photos on this page are from my collection.

Obviously not issued as an Halloween commemorative piece at the time, these can certainly appeal to Halloween collectors.

I do not have one currently, but will eventually invest in one. Just because a good Notgeld catalog provides handy information and helps in keeping tracks of what you have and what you want. If you are only starting, a catalog is not necessary. Interesting yes, useful certainly, but not absolutely necessary. Please also keep in mind also that the good ones are in German.

This is the one I will eventually buy:

Zu Hameln war einst grosse Not.

Viel Ratzen gab's und wenig Brot.

Sie frassen alles gross und klein.

Das macht die Bürgern grosse Pein

Once upon a time, the town of Hamelin had a huge problem.

Too many rats, too little bread!

The rats fed on everything large and small

causing the townsfolk a great deal of harm.

You can learn more about this legend here:The Pied Piper Of Hamelin

Notgeld literally means "necessity money" (or emergency money). In Germany, during World War I, metal was needed for weapon and war effort so the central bank gave authorization to towns and local industries to issue paper money to face shortage of metal. These banknotes were to be use locally.

"Notgeld was mainly issued in the form of (paper) banknotes. Sometimes other forms were used, as well: coins, leather, silk, linen, stamps, aluminium foil, coal, and porcelain; there are also reports of elemental sulfur being used, as well as all sorts of re-used paper and carton material (e.g. playing cards). These pieces made from playing cards are extremely rare and are known as "Spielkarten", the German word for "playing card"."Wikipedia

These first ones were so colorful and interesting that they became popular among collectors. So, as good business entities, the German towns continue to print these even after they where no longer needed, from 1918 to 1922. Sets upon sets were produced to fill the collector's demand. Collecting them is nothing new!

Serienscheine: issued between 1918 and 1922. These are found in mint condition and often were made as sets. They were not meant for circulation, but for collectors. They will mainly depict a city`s cultural heritage: famous people, architecture, lore and legends, historical highlights. They are the colorful ones.

Verkehrsausgaben and Grossnotgeld: these were issued for circulation. The ones under 1 Mark denomination are called Verkehrsausgaben and those over 1 Mark are the Grossnotgeld.

Inflation 1922 and 1923: your chance to own a banknote with a face value of 1 million to 1 trillion! Now talk about inflation.

This set was bought on an online auction, in a bidding war. Really a beautiful set of 5 banknotes, depicting some residents of the Halle zoological garden.

Most of my collection has been bought online. I never bought anything from a "real" store nor at collector's shows because most of the time I know I will get a better deal online. As for all collection, you have to know what it's worth before buying anything, unless of course you really want to have it and price is not a problem. I don't have a catalog (I will invest in one eventually) but I do research prices online before bidding or buying. Unless it's a piece I really really want, in that case I can bid whatever it takes for me to have it.

If you are starting to collect, you may want to start by buying some small lots to get you started. If like me you prefer to buy banknotes on particular topics, you can browse the internet to find what is available on your favorite subjects. I buy the following topics: animals, witches, Christmas scenes and anything that is unusual or with an interesting design. Or you can also specialized in a particular region. The main thing is collect what you like.

Here`s a few online stores and collectors selling them

These banknotes are little piece of art. Many designs are from the Art Deco and Arts and crafts movements. Although some are very simple, many are tiny piece of workmanship featuring lots of small details: column, friezes, arabesques.

The topics are various, each town wanting to show off its more interesting aspects. Among topics often depicted:

-Architecture, notable buildings

-Famous people

-Industry and crafts

-owls

-Demon, devils, witches

-Historical events

Here`s an interesting read:

Price on Serienscheine depends on 2 factor: rarity (obviously) and also topic. Some topic attracts collectors from various niche. One good example is Christmas. Christmas themed banknotes attract, along with banknotes collectors, those who collect either Christmas or religious paper ephemera. Same goes for many other topics.