50 Pfennig Oldenburg notgeld with horse

This notgeld is from Oldenburg and has the value of 50 Pfennig. It shows a horse (symbol of Oldenburg) in the centre, a woman with child in the left hand corner, farmer on the right hand side with ERNTE. The inscription in German reads: 'Heil dir, O Oldenburg! Heil Deinen Farben! Gott schuetz' Dein Edles Ross, er segne Deine Garben' and translates as: 'Hail you o Oldenburg! Hail your colours! May God protect your noble horse and bless your harvest!' 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.