10 Pfennig Arnstadt notgeld

This notgeld is from Arnstadt and has the value of 10 Pfennig. Reverse shows a man catching an egg that a bird is laying while eating notgeld. The inscription in German reads:'Die ganze Sache ist nicht ohne/ Man hofft doch stark dass es sich lohne!/ Loest mich nicht ein/ - dann kanns wohl sein/ - APW' and translates as: 'The whole thing is not bad./ One firmly hopes that it pays off!/ Do not cash (redeem) me/ - then it may well be. APW' This is one of sixty notgeld or 'emergency money' banknotes in the reference collection of packaging material which belonged to the designer Charles Hasler. Notgeld were produced by German towns, villages and municipalities from the end of the First World War until the mid 1920s, when the state bank (the Reichsbank), struggled with wartime metal shortages and post- war hyperinflation. The highly decorative notes soon became collectors items - and still remain to this day. They are double-sided and printed with their monetary value, information about the village, town or province of issue and some colourful illustration.