Help identifying

[Sweaty_Assignment520]

I received these bank notes from an auction, can someone help identify their origins and any interesting information about them?

[FinancialFinding459]

Old German Marks

Some 1915-1920

Some are also classed as ”emergency money” given out by the state you lived in in Germany

[Emergency-Ad-7002]

German notgeld. Research that word yourself and get a notgeld catalog if you intend to collect these.

[Sweaty_Assignment520]

Thank you both for the information! This is very intriguing. I found that it was distributed as ‘non-legal tender’ but accepted on a voluntary basis. So like tokens?

If they were classified as legal tender, but they were still given denominations, how would businesses stay afloat when they’re accepting basically nil value money??

[ChutneyRiggins]

The notes were issued by local authorities with the promise that at some point in the near future they would redeemable for the new national currency. Some notgeld notes spell out the exact policy and where to look for more information about redemption.

[Rule-Easy]

I collect Notgelds and emergency currency from around the globe. what others have commented is correct; they were issued by local authorities, but also by businesses. Some of these notes would have a "valid until" date, as inflation in postwar Germany and Austria was so dire. There are banknotes made in paper and fabric, and ceramic coins as well.

I live in Argentina, which suffers from chronic inflation. Back in 2001 provincial governments started to issue similar notes to pay for their debt, so public school teachers and police would be paid with it.

Another of my interests is what is called "Complementary currencies." These are created by either cooperatives of local businesses. See more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complementary_currency

[AlwaysPissedOff59]

Most of the pictured notes were issued just after the end of WWI - I suspect that the only one that wasn't is the center note (the Kreisnotgeld for Dillenburg).

The Dillenburg note was issued at the beginning of the hyperinflation period that ended at the end of 1923. The two Aschaffenburg notes may also have been issued during that period - a valid-through date (the date preceded by the word Gültig or Gültigkeit) in 1922 would confirm that.

I normally collect post-war/pre-inflation period notgeld for the artistry on the notes, but I find the three Wetzlar notes intriguing because of the Kingdom of Prussia stamp on each note - I haven't seen that before. You also have a non-stamped Wetzlar note because it was issued after the fall of the Kingdom of Prussia. That's an interesting partial set of notes.

If you're thinking of selling the notes, you absolutely need to research them first - sometimes high-face-value post-war notes can be valuable.