1/2 Mark Strausberg notgeld showing gate tower

This notgeld is from Strausberg and has the value of 1/2 Mark. It shows a wide street with a young girl and boy in the foreground. The inscription in German reads: 'Grosse Strasse in Strausberg m. g. Landsberger Torturm aus dem 15. Jahrhundert' and translates as: 'Big Street in Strausberg Landsberger gate tower from the 15th century.' 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.