Emergency coins in Bavaria from 1916-1922

Emergency coins have always been a by-product of major crises and wars. In the early modern period, emergency coins were issued within besieged cities, such as during the siege of the Braunau fortress in 1743. Despite the scarcity and rationing of all resources, economic life should at least be rudimentarily maintained as a result.

The outbreak of the First World War on 28 July 1914 on the other hand encountered a highly developed monetary system in the German Reich. Nevertheless, the population began to systematically hoard the coins from 1916. In the face of the unleashed global conflagration, an economic collapse of the state was feared, confidence in the circulating paper money was lost, and all the hard cash that could be seized was collected. The savings banks were literally raided and all metal money had disappeared from circulation within a short time. Trade was at a standstill and merchants had to hand over their goods on credit, factories were equally unable to pay their wages.

Soon afterwards, not only official authorities, but also private institutions (factories, inns and small businesses) issued emergency war money with the tacit approval of the Reich Ministry of Finance. In Bavaria alone (including the Palatinate), 158 towns and municipalities issued emergency coins between 1916 and 1921, but they were surpassed in terms of quantity by private issuers. The emergency coins were largely produced by supra-regional mints such as Balmberger and Lauer in Nuremberg and Poellath in Schrobenhausen from emergency metals such as zinc, iron, aluminium and, occasionally, ceramic materials.

Emergency money replaced state coins and, in accordance with their function as means of circulation and payment, only took over for a certain period of time and within a locally limited scope of validity. Even in the crisis-ridden period after the end of the war in 1918, emergency coins were occasionally minted further. One special form is the coin emergency money circulating within the prisoner-of-war camps during the First World War. These official prisoner-of-war camp coins were intended to maintain a small flow of goods and to offer prisoners a certain incentive to work. The prisoner-of-war camp money, which of course could not be used in general monetary transactions, was also intended to make escape attempts more difficult.

The other part collections of "Coins, medals and coin-like objects from Bavaria, Franconia, Swabia and the Palatinate in modern times" on bavarikon

>> This collection is part of the holdings of "Coins, medals and coin-like objects from Bavaria, Franconia, Swabia and the Palatinate in modern times" of the Staatliche Münzsammlung München (State Coin Collection Munich).