Notgeld#
Notgeld (necessity money, emergency money): money (coins or paper money) produced from cheap metal, paper etc. because of a shortage of precious metal. During World War I and in the post-war years of Inflation necessity money was even issued by local authorities and private businesses. In all, there were 1279 issuers, many of whom issued several series. An Austrian catalogue describes as many as 26.728 necessity notes. Their validity expired on December 21, 1920. Subsequently, necessity notes and coins became prized collectors' objects.
Literature#
K. Jaksch and A. Pick, Katalog des oesterreichischen Notgelds 1916-21, 1976; H. H. Hottenroth, Notgeld in Niederoesterreich, ein Gebot der bitteren Not, 1980; G. Meyerbeck, Das oesterreichische Notgeld, Sonderserien 1919-22, 1989.