50 Pfennig Markt Berchtesgaden notgeld

This notgeld is from Markt Berchtesgaden and has the value of 50 Pfennig. Reverse shows a mountainous landscape with a lake in the centre. The inscription in German reads: 'Heilig und schoen bleibt die Natur, sie ist von Gott, trueget uns nie' and translates as: 'Nature remains holy and beautiful, it is from God and never deceives us' 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.