Notgeld: The Emergency Money of Crisis-Era Germany
Notgeld, German for emergency money, was currency issued by towns, states, banks, and companies when official Reichsbank notes and coins ran short, above all during the First World War and the 1923 hyperinflation. It grew into one of the most colorful and collectible chapters of German paper money.
Emergency money WWI shortage 1923 hyperinflation Serienscheine
Last updated: July 2026
Notgeld, German for emergency money, was currency issued by towns, states, banks, and companies when official Reichsbank notes and coins ran short. It appeared most heavily during and after the First World War, when metal coins vanished from circulation, and again during the 1923 hyperinflation, when the Reichsbank could not print fast enough to keep up with prices. What began as a practical stopgap turned into a genuine art form: thousands of towns issued colorful, illustrated series that collectors prize to this day. This reference explains what Notgeld is, why it exists, the types you will encounter, and why it is one of the friendliest ways into German banknote collecting.
What is Notgeld?
Notgeld, German for emergency money, was currency issued by towns, states, banks, and companies when official Reichsbank notes and coins ran short.
The word joins Not, meaning need or emergency, with Geld, meaning money. When the national currency could not meet everyday demand, local authorities and businesses printed their own paper money to fill the gap. It was valid mainly within the issuing town or region and was meant to keep ordinary commerce moving, from paying wages to buying bread, until enough official currency was available again. Because so many different issuers produced it over roughly a decade, Notgeld survives in an enormous range of designs, denominations, and even materials, which is exactly what makes it such a rich field to collect.
Why did German towns and companies issue their own money?
They filled a gap the central bank could not close on its own. The pressure came in two distinct waves, separated by several years but sharing the same root cause: there was not enough usable official money in circulation.
During the First World War, metal was diverted to the war effort and the public hoarded coins for their intrinsic value, so small change all but disappeared. Towns responded with low-value paper notes, sometimes called small-change notes, so that everyday transactions could still be made. Years later, during the 1923 hyperinflation, the problem inverted: prices rose so fast that the Reichsbank could not physically print official notes quickly enough to keep pace. For the wider story of that collapse, see our guide to the Weimar hyperinflation. Local governments and companies again stepped in, this time with very high-denomination emergency notes, so employers had something to pay workers with and shops had something to accept.
What are the main types of Notgeld?
Collectors generally sort Notgeld into three broad groups, defined by when and why it was issued. The table below is the simplest way to keep them straight.
| Type | Rough period | What it was |
|---|---|---|
| Wartime small change | From 1914 | Low-value notes issued during the First World War when metal coins vanished from circulation |
| Collector series (Serienscheine) | Around 1920 to 1922 | Colorful, themed note sets printed largely to be sold to collectors rather than spent |
| Hyperinflation emergency notes | 1922 to 1923 | High-denomination local notes in the millions, billions, and even trillions of marks, issued when the Reichsbank could not print fast enough |
The first and third groups were true circulating money, issued out of necessity. The middle group is the one that turned Notgeld into a hobby, and it is worth a closer look.
Why are the Serienscheine collector notes so prized?
The Serienscheine, or series notes, were issued largely to be sold to collectors, and many towns designed them as colorful, illustrated sets celebrating local folklore, fairy tales, and landmarks.
By about 1920, the sharpest wartime coin shortage had eased, but towns had discovered that attractive Notgeld could be a source of revenue in itself: collectors would happily pay face value or more for a beautiful themed set that was never redeemed. So municipalities commissioned artists to produce richly illustrated series depicting town history, regional legends such as the Pied Piper of Hamelin, scenes from Grimm's fairy tales, local proverbs, and famous landmarks. The results range from charming to genuinely striking, and because they were made to be saved rather than spent, a great many survive in crisp, uncirculated condition today. Uncirculated (UNC) is the top of the letter-grade ladder that runs UNC, AU, XF, VF, F, VG, G, explained in our banknote grading guide.
Beautiful does not always mean rare. Because so many Serienscheine were printed specifically for collectors and then set aside, most common series remain genuinely affordable. That is good news for beginners, but it also means you should be wary of anyone selling ordinary series notes as scarce treasures. Buy from a source-first dealer who describes each note honestly.
Was Notgeld really printed on more than paper?
Yes. While most Notgeld was ordinary paper, issuers experimented widely, and surviving pieces are documented on linen, silk, leather, and wood, with some emergency tokens even struck in porcelain.
This inventiveness is part of the appeal, because the material itself becomes a collecting category. The porcelain pieces, produced by established German manufactories, are technically emergency tokens rather than notes, but they are usually collected alongside paper Notgeld as part of the same story. For most collectors, though, ordinary paper notes are the most common and by far the easiest place to begin. However you collect them, delicate materials like these reward careful handling and archival storage, which we cover in our guide on how to store banknotes.
Why is Notgeld such a good entry point for collectors?
Because it combines real historical weight with beautiful, endlessly varied design at a low entry price. Three things stand out.
1. It is affordable
Since so much Serienscheine survives in top condition, many pieces cost only a few dollars. You can hold a genuine artifact of the Weimar era without a serious budget, which is a rare thing in collecting. If you are new to the hobby entirely, our guide on how to collect world banknotes walks through choosing a focus and making a first purchase.
2. It offers almost limitless variety
Thousands of towns issued Notgeld, across multiple eras, themes, denominations, and materials. A collection can grow for years without repeating itself, whether you specialize in one region, one fairy-tale theme, or the unusual materials.
3. It is tangible history
Each note is a small, local witness to one of the most dramatic economic stories of the twentieth century. Where the trillion-mark Reichsbank notes tell the national story, Notgeld tells it from the level of a single town trying to keep its shops open.
How does Notgeld fit into the German hyperinflation story?
Notgeld is the grassroots counterpart to the famous national notes of 1923. As the Reichsbank issued denominations climbing into the trillions, with monthly inflation peaking at roughly 29,500 percent in October 1923 (Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table, Cato Institute), individual towns printed their own high-value emergency notes to bridge the same shortage at street level. Collecting both sides together, the national trillion-mark notes and the local Notgeld, gives a fuller picture of how the collapse actually played out.
Germany's 1923 collapse is only one of several great hyperinflations, and it was not even the most severe by rate; that distinction belongs to Hungary in 1946 (Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table, Cato Institute). To see how the German episode ranks against Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Greece, read every hyperinflation ranked, or pair several collapse currencies together in a curated hyperinflation set.
How do you buy genuine Notgeld?
Buy from a source-first dealer who describes each note accurately, since Notgeld is affordable enough that honest grading and provenance matter more than certification. Most Notgeld is collected raw, but where you want the strongest guarantee, a note certified by PMG or PCGS is authenticated and graded on a 1 to 70 scale and sealed in a tamper-evident holder; on that scale, EPQ (PMG) and PPQ (PCGS) certify original, unaltered paper. You can browse certified examples in graded banknotes, and our guide on how to buy world banknotes covers what to check before you pay.
Every note Planet Banknote sells passes our Planet Banknote Verified inspection and ships with a free Certificate of Authenticity, so your purchase is tied to a named, reachable business. Rather than quote collector prices that change with inventory, we point you to the live listings in the Germany collection, where Notgeld sits alongside the Reichsbank notes of the same era.
Frequently asked questions
What is Notgeld?
Notgeld, German for emergency money, was currency issued by towns, states, banks, and companies when official Reichsbank notes and coins ran short. It appeared most heavily during and after the First World War and again during the 1923 hyperinflation, circulating locally in place of national currency. Because it was printed in an enormous range of designs and materials, Notgeld is one of the most varied and accessible corners of German banknote collecting.
Why did German towns and companies issue their own money?
They filled a gap the central bank could not. During the First World War, metal coins were hoarded and diverted to the war effort, leaving a shortage of small change, and during the 1923 hyperinflation the Reichsbank simply could not print official notes fast enough to keep pace with prices. Local authorities and firms stepped in with their own paper money, valid in their area, to keep everyday commerce moving.
What is the difference between circulating Notgeld and collector series notes?
Circulating Notgeld was genuine emergency money meant to be spent locally, from plain small-change slips to the high-denomination notes of 1923. Collector series notes, called Serienscheine, were issued mainly to be sold to collectors, often in themed sets with colorful illustrations of local folklore, fairy tales, and landmarks. Many towns printed the artistic series specifically to raise revenue, which is why so much of it survives in pristine condition today.
Why is Notgeld so collectible today?
Notgeld combines real historical weight with beautiful, endlessly varied design at a low entry price. A single collection can range across thousands of towns, themes, and even unusual materials without repeating itself, and much of it survives in uncirculated condition because it was saved rather than spent. That mix of affordability, artistry, and tangible Weimar-era history makes it one of the friendliest ways to start collecting German notes.
Was Notgeld printed on anything besides paper?
Yes. While most Notgeld was paper, issuers experimented widely, and surviving pieces are documented on linen, silk, leather, and wood, with some emergency tokens even struck in porcelain. This inventiveness is part of the appeal, since the material itself becomes a collecting category. Ordinary paper notes remain the most common and the easiest place to begin.
Planet Banknote is a family-owned dealership in Sarasota, Florida, founded in 2021. Every note is sourced direct from mints, central banks, and authorized distributors, inspected through our Planet Banknote Verified process, and ships with a free Certificate of Authenticity. US orders ship free via USPS Priority, and every order includes a free bonus gift.