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Indeed. I will admit that if I do not have the rest of them sitting on the pile looking to be sorted, I may place a special order to get a complete set of the series. I am wondering how many notes not only are common, but dealers themselves think they are common enough for large bulk lots. I have 2300 notes. I expect (hope) once duplications addressed, I might be at 2k, even counting for perceived variants and printing errors that I stumble across.
relatively speaking per note, bulk lots are inexpensive. Buying by note or inv. series I expect can get costly.
Hi Jack!
If John is able to help, I will then copy the info into a new article as these pieces are a wonderful serienscheine set!
The collectors out there seem to like them and we shouldn’t lose the info about them.
I have just added a new article about the 2 mark anti-Semitic note from Brakel!!
Please do take a look.
Now we get to look at series 409.1, Gatersleben. The book calls this the Wilhelm Busch series. They refer to Max and Moritz. Base research shows them to be a pair of… precocious children. Despite what parents might fear of their children taking up pranking like Max and Moritz, these comic strips were considered a cultural touchstone and often used to help teach children how to read.
Sadly, I am unable to read the comedic genius this note is meant to refer to.
Thanks,
Jack
<><><><><><>
50 pfennig, 30 July 1921, Konzert
Writing on the front:
Die heut’ge Zeit palst wunderfam für Bebubenstreich u. Glostenkram. Noch eh’ der Hahn zu kräh’n begann mau Max auf Lor und Wände an “In Michels-hof-Musik erklingt; man lauscht wenn die Baluta singt.
(translated 11 April 2016)
The heut’geh time palace wonderful farm for boys prank u. Glostenkram. Yet ere the cock to kräh’n began mau Max on Lor and walls to “In Michels-hof music is heard; one listens when Baluta sings.
<<???>>
<on a card of some type>
Kurszettet
New York 170,82
Holland 5894,10
Schweiz 3166,80
London 676,30
Paris 1238,75
Warschau 3,10
(translated 11 April 2016)
Kurszettet
New York 170.82
Holland 5894.10
Switzerland 3166.80
London 676.30
Paris 1238.75
Warsaw 3.10
<<???>>
>probably would make more sense if I understood the joke<
<><><><><>
Writing on the back:
Der Scheerenschnitt Ganz Deutschland ist heute sehr beliebt. Wir Gatersleber sind darin geübt.
(translated 11 April 2016)
The average Scheer The whole of Germany is very popular today. We Gatersleber are trained.
<<???>>
Die Gatersleber Schaf – Striseusen reisen ab.
(translated 11 April 2016)
The Gaterslebener sheep – Striseusen from traveling
<???>
Hi Jack,
the Reutter on the Gardelegen notes isn’t the Fritz Reuter (1810-1874) of the Reutergeld series; it’s Otto Reutter (with a double t in the middle), a comedian and singer (1870-1931) born in Gardelegen in the Altmark region of Prussia. So the dialect isn’t Reuter’s Mecklenburgian but that of the Altmark.
There are lots of different Gardelegen variants, and there are quotations from Reutter on four of them :
5 Pfennig : Ehrlich blieb’n hüt up Erd’n / Is dat Schwerste wat et gifft. / Mag dat Jeld ok dreckig werd’n, / Wenn de Hand man sauber blifft.
To remain honest in the world today / Is the hardest thing there is. / Let money become a dirty thing, / As long as one’s hands remain clean.
10 Pfennig : Teihn Pennich jelt dit Stück Papier / Elf Pennich kreg‘ de Drucker hier. / Nu könn’n wi’t binoah jornich foaten / Woto hemm‘ wi dat drucken loaten!
This piece of paper is worth ten Pfennigs / The printer gets eleven Pfennigs here. / Now we can hardly understand it / Why did we get it printed!
25 Pfennig : De Jung’n jammern un de Oll’n / “Wie sind de Tiden dü’r. / Dat kleine Jeld könn’n wie beholl’n / Dat grote nimmt de Stü’r.”
Young people complain, as do the old, / How expensive things are nowadays. / We can keep our small change, / The big bucks get taken by the tax man.
50 Pfennig : Wie schön was doch de olle Mark / Janz wie de Ollmark – hart un stark. / Ut Lumpen moakt man hüt dat Jeld; / ‘t fehlt nich an Lumpen in de Welt. / Doch wi erklärn uns nit bank’rott, / Holln ehrlich dörch – un flehn to Jott : / “Bescher uns wedder – hart un stark, / De Ollmark wie de olle Mark.”
Oh how beautiful was the old Mark, / Just like the Altmark – hard and strong. / They make money from rags these days; / As if there weren’t enough rags in the world these days. / But we won’t declare ourselves bankrupt, / We’ll pull through with integrity – and pray to God : / “Grant us once more – hard and strong, / the Altmark as it used to be like the old Mark.
NB There are two puns in the last quotation. Lumpen means rags but also means rapscallions / rascals / rogues. The Altmark area (the “Old March” of Brandenburg-Prussia) is used as a pun on the “old Mark” i.e. the German currency when it used to be worth something.
Best wishes as always,
John
Ello John,
Today we look at Gardelegen. Series 404.4 and .6. Again, we deal with reutergeld if my memory serves me correctly. Again, Notgeld notes lead me to be curious just how many dialects the average German was expected to know. Or if some notes were only meant to circulate locally.
For series 404.4, we have a quote from Reuter.
Series 404.6 also appears to quote Reuter.
For all the authors Germany produced, there appears to be a fair amount of issuing groups to quote Reuter.
Thanks,
Jack
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Series 407.4:
50 pfennig, Otto Reutters Heim (birthplace), 01 Jan 1921
Writing on the front:
Wie schon was doch die alle Mark
Janz wie die Allmark – hart und stark
At Lumpen maakt man hüt dat Jeld;
‘t felht nich am Lumpen in de Welt.
Doch wi erklärn uns nich bank’rott,
holln ehrlich dorch – un flehn too Jott“
„Bescher uns wedder – hart und stark,
de Ollmark wie die olle Mark“
Otto Reutter
(translated 13 June 2022)
As already what but the all Mark
Janz like the Allmark – hard and strong
With rags you keep the money;
There’s no lack of rags in the world.
But we won’t declare ourselves bankrupt
Honestly get there – and beg too Jott”
“Bring us wedder – hard and strong,
de Ollmark like the old Mark”
Otto Reutter
<<???>>
Series 407.6:
10 Pfennig, Portrait of Otto Reutter, 01 March 1921
Writing on the front:
Teihn Pennich jelt dit Stuck Papier
Elf Pennich kreg‘ de Drucker hier
Nu könn’n wi’t binoah jarnich foaten
Wato hemm‘ wi dat drucken loaten!
Otto Reutter
(translated 30 June 2022)
Teihn Pennich jelt dit Stuck Papier
Elf Pennich kreg‘ de Drucker hier
Nu könn’n wi’t binoah jarnich foaten
Wato hemm‘ wi dat drucken loaten!
Otto Reutter
<<???>>
Hi Jack,
Fritz Reuter’s whole shtick was to write in Mecklenburg dialect, which he did in numerous works of humorous verse and prose. He actually retired to a villa in Eisenach in Saxony, which I visited last October. Typically for my luck, it was closed for refubishment …
The quotations from Reuter are as follows :
10 Pfennig : In Fritz Reuter’s De Reis‘ nah Bellingen (The Journey to Bellingen, 1865), Old Witt says to the Mayor : So is’t nu einmal in de Welt : „För wat is wat. Dat is nich aftauwennen.” (That’s the way of the world. “You give something and you get something in return. There’s no escaping that.”)
25 Pfennig : In Reuter’s Ut mine Festungstid (Of My Time In Prison, 1862) we have the proverbial wisdom : En’n Ossen un en Fäuder Heu möt einer ut den Weg gahn (You need to get out of the way of an ox and a cartload of hay). In other words, don’t put yourself in risky situations; getting between an ox and a wagonload of hay would get you squashed by the ox.
50 Pfennig : Annoyingly, I haven’t been able to find the source of this quoatation. Wenn den’n Düwel sin Reich uneinig is, hew’wen de armen Seelen Fierabend (When there’s disharmony in the Devil’s realm, the poor souls can take a break). In other words, the oppressed can catch a break when the cause of their suffering is distracted.
Hope this is of interest!
Best wishes as always,
John
Ello,
Yes John, that helped. Quite a lot.
Today we look at Gadesbush. This time I suspect it is a matter of confusion inflicted by whichever dialect of German Reuter felt like writing in. Some words chosen threw off my attempts to translate them. This is series 404.1.
<><><>
10 pfennig, Street View, 31 Dec 1921
Writing on the back:
So is’t nu einmal in de Welt: for wat is wat.
Dat ist nich aftauwennen.
(translated 05 June 2022)
That’s the way it is in the world: for wat is wat.
That’s not a bad thing.
<<???>>
25 pfg, Rathaus, 31 Dec 1921
Writing on the back:
En’n Ossen un en fauder hew mot einer ut den Weg‘ gahn
(translated 06 June 2022)
En’n Ossen un en fauder hew mot one ut the way ‘gahn
<<???>>
50 pfg, Town View, 31 Dec 1921
Writing on the back:
Wenn den’n Duwet sin Reich uneinig is,
hewwen de armen Seelen fierabend
(translated 06 June 2022)
If the Duwet sin Reich is divided,
hewwen de poor souls fierabend
<<???>>
Hi Jack,
Of the Frohse notes, the 75-Pfennig is devoted to modern shipping on the Elbe, the 50-Pfennig to the Battle of Frohse in 1278, and the 25-Pfennig to the foundation of the town in the 10th century.
The reverse of the 25-Pfennig has two old names for Frohse, namely Frasa and Frasun, dating back to the Early Middle Ages. The town is first mentioned in a document of 936 and was likely founded by the German king Henry the Fowler; he famously ensured that the eastern marches of the empire were fortified against the encroachments of the Magyars with the building of castles, for which he issued a Burgenordnung, a Decree on Castles, according to which every ninth citizen of towns and large villages was required to move into a local castle, build up its defences, and act as militia in time of war; he would be financially supported and supplied by the other 8/9ths of the male population who were responsible for the harvests etc. When raiders appeared, castles would then be prepared to take in the local population. Part of the Burgenordnung is given here : Jeder Neunte muss in die Burg ziehen! (“One man in every nine must move into the castle!”).
On the obverse we see the construction of a castle, as would have been the case at Frohse. On the reverse we see the other peasants toiling in the fields. The text on the bottom translates as : “The Castle of Frohse, presumably founded by Henry I”.
The eye-wateringly miniature text on the 50-Pfennig note reads Markgreve Otto ward gevangen mit onse 300 riddere (“Margrave Otto was captured along with 300 of our knights”).
Hope this helps!
Best wishes as always,
John
Ello all,
Today we look at series 397.1 from Frose a. Elbe.
On the 25 pfg note I have a couple of questions. One, is there a commonly accepted idea of what the workers are constructing on the front? On the reverse of this note there are a couple bits of text that confused me. I think I have the last one right, but would like confirmation.
For the reverse of the 50 pfg note, I have given the entirety of the note. Note because it all confused me, but because there was one line that I could not read and that will help to isolate it.
Thanks again for all your aid.
Jack
<><><><><>
25 pfennig, farm??, 01 May 1921
Writing on the back:
Lieder neunte muss in die Burg ziehn
(translated 23 March 2022)
Songs ninth must go to the castle
<<???>>
Frasa frasun
(translated 23 March 2022)
Frasa frasun
<<???>>>
Burg vrohsa vermutliche grendung heinrichsl
(translated 23 March 2022)
Vrohsa Castle, presumed founding of Heinrich
<not sure about the translation>
50 pfennig, Battle of Frohse, 01 May 1921
Writing on the back:
Funfzig
(translated 25 March 2022)
Fifty
<small line of text I cannot read>
Schlacht bei Frohse 10/1 1278
(translated 25 March 2022)
Battle of Frohse 10 Jan 1278
Stadt Frohse
(translated 25 March 2022)
Town Frohse
Hi Jack ,
the solution to the puzzles on the 75-Pfennig Lösungsschein is :
Die Not ist groß, die Last ist schwer. (line 1, puzzle 1) / Wer wird sie von uns nehmen? (line 2, puzzle 2) / Kein And’rer hilft, wir müssen’s selbst, (line 3, puzzle 3) / soll’n stillen sich die Tränen! (line 4, puzzle 4) / Ein Volk, ein Geist, ein Wort, ein Ziel, (lines 5 and 6, puzzle 5) / nur so scheint wieder Sonne! (line 7, puzzle 6).
The final line (part 6 of the epuzzle) is on the 25-Pfennig note of the set, and is hardly a puzzle, as the line is given in it’s entirety!
It all translates as :
The situation is dire, the burden is heavy, / Who will take it from us? / No one else to help us, we must do it ourselves, / let the tears be dried! / One people, one spirit, one word, one goal, / Only so will the sun shine again!
Hope that this is of use and interest!
Best wishes as always,
John
John
Thanks for the information. Based on your response, I need to break my rule about owning the notgeld I ask about.
May I please have the lines and translations for the note you referenced as 398.5?
And yes, buying Notgeld is nice. problem is I am a couple thousand notes behind the bulk lots I bout to quickly replace the notgeld lost because of a house guest. Once I process them, I hope to have at least all my common notes back. Maybe luck out and find some less than common notes. the few true rarities I will have to look for specifically. I’m sure our host here will be glad to sell me any extra he may have. :)
Hi Jack
Happy New Year! Hope that the full-time work is fulfilling and rewarding as well as exhausting! We work to live, not live to work. And I work to buy Notgeld lol.
The reverse of the 398.2 25-Pfennig piece translates as :
And even if I’m only little, / I’ll have to go into the collector album, / For here both large and small dig peat / And give the whole world pleasure.
Are you familiar with Frose meatballs? / If not, then try our brandy! / You’ll never forget us, / We bring you the rosy scent of Frose and a hot meal.
Bit of a health warning on thre translation : I’m only about 90% sure that Bulten are meatballs, i.e. Buletten written in the Erzgebirgisch dialect of the rest of the verses. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me in the contxt of the “hot meal”.
As to the 398.3 / 398.4 sets, you’re absolutely right that the various puzzles on each note make up a greater whole. The envelopes in which the notes were originally packed contained details of a prize-winning competition for the solution; entries could be sent to the mayor of Frose or the sponsor for the competition, one Herr Dockhorn.
The puzzles consist of 3 rebuses (notes 1, 3 and 5), a gap-filling exercise (note 2), and a split-word grid (note 4).
After the competition had run its course and prizes had been awarded (including five books on Notgeld, Notgeld albums, subscriptions to Notgeld periodicals and sets of Serienscheine), a 75-PFennig note (G / M 398.5) was issued with the solution, a six-line poem.
It has been some time since I have posted a town. Full time work has been exhausting.
For those that joined this suite since I last posted, I try to post questions on Notgeld I possess. These notes are so common that I have presumed most have them already. It is slightly depressing, but realistic to my budget to know that rarities will not be that common among the notes I possess.
What is not common is John’s skill levels. They are amazing. Incredibly so.
Today we will look at Frose a. Anhalt
We will start with series 398.2a. On the 25 pfennig note with a town view, there is a bit of text on the obverse that I have to wonder how much regular German is in it.
<><><>
Writing on the front:
Un wenn ek on man bin,
In’t Sammer Album mot ek rin,
Weil Grot un Klan hier Torf utstickt
Un damet alle Welt beglickt.
Sin‘ Froser Bulten jiach bekannt?
Wenn nich verseuket mal den Brand!
Jie werdn uns niemals vergetten
Wie bringen F(Rose)r Duft un warmes Aten.
(Translated 05 April 2022)
And if ek on man am,
In’t Sammer Album mot ek rin,
Because grot and clan embroiders peat here
And damet all the world is happy.
Are you familiar with Froser Bulten?
If not spoil the fire!
You will never forgive us
We bring F(Rose)r fragrance and warm breath.
<<???>>
Also there is Series 398.3a. This series is known for its puzzles. They confuse me. I did not get that brain I sought for Christmas. I did do well with the text. I think. These notes each have a single line that seems like it is a part of a larger quote made by assembling all the notes in some order. Is this true?
Thank you so much, Marcel! I am unable to purchase this because the seller will not ship to the United States. Could you help me by chance? If so please email me at [email protected]. Thank you in advance!
Hallo Brian,
Welcome to the Notgeld-site. Nice to see new faces.
Found for you on Ebay a note from Schirgiswalde. It is not so dramatic as Tony write, bur it was pretty hard to find this note.
If you are browsing on the internet (e.g. Ebay or MA-shops) use the keywords: “Otto Engert” or “Girokasse” or “Bankhaus Heydemann” in the combination “Schirgiswalde” or “Kirschau” or “Bautzen” or “Löbau” or “Zittau”. Bankhaus Heydemann changed those latest places to Schirgiswalde.
See for (more) combinations: Arnold Keller, Deutsches Notgeld: Band (Volume) 7 and 8, Das Notgeld der deutschen Inflation 1923 (Reprint). Gietl Verlag.
And Manfred Müller, Band 4, also Gietl Verlag.
Try also those combinations with the option “pictures”. Or try keyword “Auktion” (German for auctions).
It was nice to see other Notgeld than my expertise Serienscheine.
Good luck and I hope you find more notes from Schirgiswalde!
(Ebay.de (description): “500 Milliarden Mark Kirschau Otto Engert” (Reverse blank)
Hi Brian!
As I said, they are very, very rare. You probably will never ever see them. I haven’t in over 50 years.
Hello fellow collectors. I hope you are all well. My ancestors are from Schirgiswalde in eastern Germany, near Bautzen. My understanding is the town issued notgelds in the 1922-23 range. I would very much like to add them to my collection to bring a touch of family to my collection. Can anyone help me out with selling me them? Thank you in advance for the help.
Hi Jack,
the text for the six pictures is as follows :
Bild 1 : Thomas Münzer sammelt die aufständischen Bauern und ziehet sie zum Kampf für ihre Religionsfreiheit begeisternd gen Frankenhausen.
Bild 2 : Auf dem weissen Berge über Frankenhausen kommt es zum Kampf, jedoch gehen die gräflichen und landgräflichen Heerhaufen als Sieger hervor.
Bild 3 : Und in der Ferne stehen die Weiber, sehen das Niedermetzeln ihrer Männer, und es ist nichts als ein Heulen und Klagen.
Bild 4 : Der Rest der geschlagenen Bauern stürzt fliehend in die Stadt, doch dringen auch die feindlichen Streiter mit ein und weiter geht das Morden.
Bild 5 : Dann nach der Schlacht halten die Sieger grausames Gericht. 300 Bauern werden ohn Erbarmen auf dem Marktplatz hingerichtet.
Bild 6 : Und in einem Bodenraum wird Thomas Münzer, der sich als alter kranker Mann ausgibt, entdeckt und gefangen.
Hope this helps!
Best wishes as always,
John
Greetings,
Today we look at Frankenhausen am Kyffhauser. This town is also known as Bad Frankenhausen. To be honest, this could almost have been not sent. My problem is that I cannot read the text on these notes of series 373.2a. This annoys me given that I was able to understand series 373.1a and 1b.
For 373.2a, all I was able to determine beyond the fact they exist was there are six ‘bilds’ and each of them appears to be in a different color than any of the others in that series.
Thanks for any help you are able to give me.
Hi Everyone!
Don’t forget – if you see a note missing from one of my lists / articles, please do let me know. I have found several more ‘saints on notgeld’ in the past few days so there are more out there to be found, for sure….. keep happy and keep collecting!
Hi Jack,
The words are in a form of Low German and translate as :
“The need is severe / The strength is there / The way is clear” i.e. we’re in a bad situation, but we are still powerful enough, so let’s vote in the plebiscite that Schleswig remains German.
Hope this helps!
Best wishes as always,
John
Greetings,
Today we look at Flensburg. These are plebiscite notes. As an aside I find the way the zones were divided to be interesting. They were separated according to the results expected. One zone was towns expected to vote to join the Kingdom of Denmark. Another zone was expected to vote to remain within the postwar Republic of Germany. It would be said that the results were predetermined by the chosen boundary lines. It is sort of comparable to election areas in some countries. Red state and blue state. Labour and Tory. These divisions can be said to be a more modern example of these divisions created for those post Great War elections.
Usually, I wonder if I am seeing a older / weirder form of German. With plebiscite notes, I have to wonder if I am seeing an older or more obscure form of Danish.
The mystery text is the same on both the 50 pfennig, Family at Crossroads, 16 Jan 1920, No. 30646, <red serial number> of series 369.1b and the 50 pfennig, Family at a Crossroads, 16 Jan 1920, No. 09384, <olive green serial number> of series 369.2b.
The mystery text on the back of the note reads:
De not is swor
De kraft is dor
De weg is klor
(translated 23 October, 2014)
Is not the swor
The kraft is dry
The way klor
<<???>>
Thanks again for your thoughts on this.
Jack
Hi everyone – I am currently working on a ‘notgeld calendar’ project for the website. Please bear with me while I get the basics in place and then over the following months/years try to get each date covered off with a notgeld issued on that date – thanks in advance
The basic structure is now live and you will see at least one notgeld depicted for each month. As time goes on, hopefully more and more notgeld will get linked. I’ve done 14 out of the 365 dates, so a long way to go!
Hi Jack,
The 100-Pfennig note from the rural community of Eutin (G/ M 358.1) shows a woman unhooking a smoked ham from the rafters of the smokehouse. The accompanying text advises the reader about lifestyle choices :
Eet Holsteen’schen Schinken, / Drink Grok nich to knapp / Dann büst du mit 100 Johr’n / Ümmer noch nich slapp.
or in English :
“Eat Holstein ham, don’t stint yourself when drinking grog, then even at the age of 100 years you still won’t be listless.”
(Grog – rum and boiling water) is a staple alcohoic drink on the North German coasts).
The 25-Pfennig piece from the town of Eutin (359.1) has the wisdom :
Not wer in allen Landen · Kleingeld nich vörhanden · dor wüss man denn nich „ut noch in“ · und mokt ok Notgeld in Eutin.
or in English :
“There’s misery across the country where there’s no ready money, we don’t know what to do for the best, so we make Notgeld in Eutin.”
The Voss-Haus on the note takes its name from Johann Heinrich Voss, who lived there as the headmaster of the school with his wife Ernestine and their sons from 1784 to 1802. It was while he lived here that Voss translated Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey into German. The house burned to the ground by arsonists in the night of 30th January 2006; no perpetrators were ever found and the investigation by the State Prosecutor of Lübeck halted in September 2006 . It was rebuilt in a similar style in 2019.
The 100-Pfennig note has the verse :
Für Geld u. Silber nimm den Schein / Und steck‘ ihn ohne Murren ein! / Eh‘ Hamstern, Schieben hat sein End‘ / Geht er noch oft in and’re Händ‘.
or in English :
“Accept this note as gold or silver, / And put it in your pocket without moaning. / Before all the hoarding and profiteering has ended / It will have passed through a number of other hands.”
The verse is lamenting the post-war black-marketeering and hoarding practices upon which the parlous state of the economy was commonly blamed. The verb “hamstern” means to hoard, i.e. to act like a hamster, who fills his cheeks to bursting with food to eat later. Hamsters are therefore a common motif on Notgeld, for example on notes from Rottweil and Freren.
Hope this is all of interest!
Best wishes as always,
John
Greetings. We will now examine Notgeld of Eutin. I have questions from series 358.1 and 359.1a. The text threw me again on the note from series 358.1. Again, the text is in something that either at one time thought it was German, or a local dialect. Something I think about local pigs? Next is series 359.1a. for the 25 pfennig, the Voss Haus note the trouble seems to be the quotation within the text on the note. Also, in 2019 the Voss Haus is a rebuilt hotel. This is about one hundred years too late for my needs. Can you offer any leads? As for the 100 pfennig note, the use of the hamsters confuses me. Last I heard, the hamsters would be happy to either eat the paper money, or create some kind of nest with it. Feeding hamsters, cute as many think they are, is not the purpose most have for their money.
Thanks,
Jack
<><><><><><><>
100 pfg, Grosser Eutiner See, 1921
Writing on the back:
Eet Holstein schen Schinken,
Drink Grok nicht o Knapp
Dann bust du mit 100 Jahrn
Ummer noch nich Slapp
(translated 19 October 2021)
Eet Holstein ham,
Don’t drink Grok o Knapp
Then you bust at 100 years
Still not Slapp
<<??>>
359.1b:
25 Pfennig, Voss Haus, green, Dec 1920
Writing on the front:
Not ner in allen Landen Kleingeld nich vorhanden dor nuss man denn nich „ut noch in“ und makt ok Notgeld in Eutin.
(translated 20 October 2021)
Not nor change not available in all countries there you don’t have to “ut nor in” and ok emergency money in Eutin.
<<?>>
100 pfennig, town view, Dec 1920
Writing on the back:
Für Geld u. Silber nimm de Schein
Und steck‘ ihn ohne Murren ein!
Eh‘ Hamstern Schieben End‘
Geht er noch oft in and’re Hand‘
(translated 25 October 2021)
For gold and silver take the note
And put it in your pocket without grumbling!
Eh ‘Hamsters Pushing End‘
Does it often go into other hands ‘
<<???>>
A little update on the gentleman on the Eldagsen 1-Mark : it is claimed in sources that I haven’t managed to verify to my satisfaction that he is in fact Eldagsen’s mayor Joachim de Vries, who – it is alleged – was suspended from office due to irregularities with the printing contract pertaining to the Notgeld. A reputable source has him as the mayor in May 1920, and claims his involvement with the issue of Notgeld coins, so his involvement with the issue of the Notgeld notes is both plausible and possible.
Printing Notgeld for collecting purposes was finally banned by a law of 1th July 1922; Eldagsen’s collectable set was issued in June 1922, under the fake date of 1st June 1921 and after an alleged expiry date of 1st February 1922, so maybe this manipulation constitutes the irregularity alleged. This wheeze, to make notes unredeemable, was however not uncommon …
Hi Jack,
Yep there’s text in Low German rather than High German!
The text on the 75-Pfennig note translates as :
“The land between the [rivers] Deister and Leine / Now that’s the right place in my opinion.” / These words spoke Duke Erich von Calenberg in the year 1495. / Since this time we are true Calenbergers.
By way of explanation : in 1495 Duke Wilhelm IV of Brunswick-Lüneburg divided his lands between his sons Heinrich and Erich. Erich received the principalities of Calenberg and Göttingen. Upon this gift, Erich is said to have spoken these words, showing his satisfaction at the quality of the lands he received.
On the first 1-Mark note, the text says :
A little village in Calenberg / Has found the right trick. / It ’s become a republic, issues emergency money, / So why are you sweating, lad!
The Free State of Braunschweig (Brunswick) was established on 10th November 1918 as a republic, after the abdication of Duke Ernst August on the 8th. The note is wryly asserting that now all former rules and regulations are a thing of the past, there’s no need for anyone to sweat and work because the town can simply issue emergency money as a source of revenue. The gentleman in the picture might be the Communist August Merges, the first president of the Free State until he was forced to flee from counter-revolutionary forces arriving in April 1919. The Free State survived and became part of the Weimar Republic; Merges also survived, but was hunted down, persecuted, repeatedly arrested and tortured by the Gestapo during the 1930s and 40s.
The other 1-Mark note has a poem telling of Eldagsen’s fate during the Thirty Years’ War :
In the Year 1625 after Christ’s Birth, / The townspeople of Eldagsen lay in wait for Colonel Plankhart. / And when he came close to the town / They rose up against him and took him prisoner. / A year later he came back again, / And destroyed the town in a great fire. / The whole town was burned to the ground, / And Colonel Plankhart’s name is still spoken today in tones of horror.
The 1773 “Magazine for Recent History and Geography” reports : “The aforementioned burning to ashes occurred during Tilly’s invasion of 1626 on the 10th June, whereupon Eldagsen was set aflame from end to end by an Imperial colonel by the name of Plankhart, and was burned to the ground with its town hall, churches and towers. Only in the lower outer suburb did some houses still stand, according to the aforementioned description from the year 1653.”
Hope that this is helpful and of interest.
Best wishes as always,
John
Greetings
Thank you for your previous help.
Today, we look at Eldagsen, series 327.1. Again we have text that seems ‘German that is not German’. I think there are references and a person mixed in. Maybe.
Thanks for what you can share on this.
75 pfennig, 01 June 1921, Street View
Writing on the front:
“Dat Land twischen Deister un Lein
Dat ist it rechte dat ek meine.”
Düsse Wore sprok Hertog Erich von Calenbarg im Jahre 1495.
Un seit der Tied sind wie echte Calenberger.
<<translated 07 March 2018>>
“Dat land between Deister and Lein
Dat is it right dat ek mine. ”
Düsse Wore sprok Hertog Erich of Calenbarg in 1495.
Un since the Tied are like real Calenberger.
<<???>>
01 Mark, 01 June 1921, year 1600
Writing on the front:
Jn Calenbarg en lüttjet Nest den richtigen Dreih nun funnen hett.
Republik woren is se und Notgeld gIft se, Junge watt sweetst de!
(translated 13 September 2021)
In Calenbarg en lüttjet Nest the right Dreih now funnen hett.
Republic of what is and emergency money is valid, boy watt sweetst de!
<<???>>
01 Mark, 01 June 1921, Kriegerdenkmal
Writing on the front:
In Jahre 1625 na Christi Geburt, ~ Da hemet de Eldagser Oberst Plakhart wat uppesurt. Un wie hei in de Nahe der Stadt is ekomen Da hewet se afegart un gefangen enomen. Ein Jahre naher was hei weder hier, Un vernichte ganz Eldagsen dor in grotet Fuer. De ganze Stadt ist volstanding afebrennt, Un Oberst Plankhart sin Name wird hute noch mit Schrecken enent
(translated 14 September 2021)
In 1625 after the birth of Christ, ~ Da hemet de Eldagser Colonel Plakhart wat uppesurt. Un how hot near the city is ekomen Da hewet se afegart un captive enomen. A year closer what is called neither here, Un destroy all Eldagsen dor in grotet Für. The whole town is in full fire, and Colonel Plankhart’s name is still terrified
<<???>>
Thanks again
Hi Jack,
Good to have you back in the Forum with great questions!
The reverse of the Eisfeld note is in the local dialect, Itzgründisch, which renders Eisfeld itself as Asfall :
Früher worn im ganzen Land
Asfaller Schuh un Tuch bekannt,
Jetzt sann Puppen, Pfärlä, Holzvürhäng
Hier ze hamm in jeder Läng’.
In days gone by Eisfeld shoes and cloth
Were famous thoughout the land,
Now you can buy dolls, little horses and wooden beaded curtains
In any length you want.
(The main picture is of weavers busy making cloth at their looms; the carved wooden products, the dolls, the little horses, elephants and rocking horses are in the top panel; the wooden beaded curtains “in any length” are not depicted, but may be hinted at by the frames to the various pictures.)
The obverse has the wisdom :
Ein jeder treibt gern Schnick und Schnack
Mit unserem lieben “Hammelsack”:
Doch wo kam Eichsfelds Wohlstand her,
Wenn Hammelsack’scher Fleiss nicht wär?
Everyone likes to make a mock
Of our dear old “Mutton Sack” :
But where would Eisfeld’s wealth come from,
If it weren’t for the Mutton Sack’s hard work?
(The side panels show men of Eisfeld in their traditional dress going off to work, one a bootmaker, another a farm worker with his threshing flail and mid-day jug of beer. They both wear the traditional lambskin hat which, because it is said to resemble a ram’s scrotum, gave the people of Eisfeld the nickname Hammelsäcke : Mutton Sacks.)
Hope this is of interest!
Best wishes as always,
John
Greetings. Today we look at Eisfeld, series 323.1. The first two notes appear to follow a clothing making idea. The last one might be a famous person of some kind.
25 pfennig, Fountain, # 25798
Writing on the front:
Ein jeder treibt gern Schnick und Schnack
Mit unserm lieben “Soammelsack,
Doch wo käm Eisfeld’s Wohlstand her,
Wenn Soammelsack ‘scher fleiß nicht war?
(translated 12 February 2018)
Everybody likes to do Bells and whistles
With our dear “Soammelsack,
But where did Eisfeld’s prosperity come from,
If Soammelsack’s was not diligence?
<<???>>
>>>>is Soammelsack a proper name?
Writing on the back:
Früher worn im ganzen Land
Asfaller Schuh und Juch bekannt,
Jetzt sänn Juppen Pfärlä Holzvürhäng
Hier ze hamm in jeder Läng!
(translated 12 February 2018)
Early worn throughout the country
Asfaller shoe and well known,
Now we have fun Pfärlä Holzvürhäng
Here I am in every length!
<<<???>>>
50 pfennig, Bricklayer, # 27787
Writing on the back:
Trampelst de Lohkäs zur Summerschzeit,
host de ze breina, wenn’s friert und schneit.
(translated 23 February 2018)
Trample de Lohkäs in summer,
host de ze breina when it’s freezing and snowing.
<<???>>
75 pfennig, Otto Ludwig, # 4309
Writing on the front:
Heimat! Was liegt wenn die Stimme der in diesen zwei Silben! Heimat, der Glockenten, was alles Steht auf im dem aus der Fremde keh. Menschen Herzen renden Wilkommen ruft.
(translated 05 March 2018)Homeland! What if the voice is in those two syllables! Home, the bell, what’s up in the stranger. Making people’s hearts Welcome.
<<quote of some poem or writing???>
Thank you for your aid.
Jack
It has been a while.
Summer Gig work was… unique.
With the return of regular work during the local colligate season, I hope to enjoy notgeld again.
Jack
Does anyone have a picture they can send me please of the 6 pieces from very colourful Geldern (Serie C – Neumann / Hegar) set? I only have/ had 4 of the pieces so the new article, just published, only show 4 of the 6 notes. Thanks in advance…….
I have been adding a few more items to the shop, so please do keep aneye on that. Also, I have just added a new article about the wonderful purple coloured note from Patschkau.
Keep happy and keep collecting!
I have just added the very interesting verkehrsausgaben notgeld piece, issued in Niederlahnstein and dated 1917……to the notgeld website shop. It has a very interesting story and graphic behind it.
if you don’t already have it in your collection, I would suggest that it is a very good addition to have.Hey Jack,
the text is certainly unclear, and the lower-case letter k is particulalry splodged, but the third signatory on the Eisenach notes rejoices in the titles Stadtrat u. wirkl. Geh. Rat i.e. Stadtrat und wirklicher Geheimer Rat in an unabbreviated form. In English, that’s “Town Councillor and Senior Privy Councillor”. The latter title dates back to before the German Revolution, and was a title awarded for life to top-echelon civil servants of German principalities, in this case the Grand Duchy of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach.
The Privy Councillor title is still used here in the UK, but there’s no real English-language equivalent to the part of the German honorific wirklich, which means “true” or “actual” or “genuine”, so I’ve chosen to translate it as “senior”.
The old German rules for use of the title were (my translation) : “Members of the Privy Council enjoyed titles such as Wirklicher Geheimer Rat or Geheimrat. In the 19th century the honorific lost some of its exclusivity and became a non-academic title for senior civil servants, for example “First Senior Privy Councillor” (Erster Wirklicher Geheimrat), “Senior Privy Councillor and Ministerial Director” (Wirklicher Geheimrat und Ministerialdirektor), “Privy Councillor to the Government” (Geheimer Regierungsrat) or “Privy Councillor to the Treasury” (Geheimer Rechnungsrat).” (source : Meyers Großes Conversations-Lexikon)
The text in the middle of the Wolfram von Eschenbach note is actually in Middle High German from the beginning of the 13th century, and is from the beginning of Wolfram’s other great epic, Willehalm, where the author claims that whatever one might find written in his books, it is not a result of his ability or art but by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He claims here, modestly : “swaz an den buochen stet geschriben / des bin ich künstelos beliben” (“What one finds here written in the books, is, my goodness, none art of mine”).
Hope that this helps!
Best wishes as always :)
Greetings,
For series 320.2a of Eisenach there is a single line of text that this series that I do not quite get. It is on each of the notes, so I shall list it once.
Series 320.2a, Wartburgfeier
Stadtrat u. Miroi. Gen. Rat
(translated 20 April 2021)
City Council and Miroi. Gen. Council
<<???>>
The next text comes from series 320.4a, Minnesanger. Or should I say, the text I could not understand. For this note, I put the obverse text I could understand.
25 pfennig, Wolfram von Eschenbach, 01 Apr 1922
Writing on the front:
Herr Wolfram v. Eschenbach
(translated 27 April 2021)
Herr Wolfram v. Eschenbach
<<<<texts I cannot read>>>>
Dichtete auf der Wartburg den Parsival
(translated 27 April 2021)
He wrote Parsival at the Wartburg
And on the back is that phrase that confused me from the other series.
Stadtrat u. Miroi. Gen. Rat
(translated 20 April 2021)
City Council and Miroi. Gen. Council
<<???>>
I cannot offer any guess on the text on the second series. For the first one, I have to hope that I misunderstood something and that ‘Miroi’. Thanks for what you can advise.
Jack
‘REVALUED GEMS – Volume 2 (L – Z)’ has now been published and is avalable to purchase from the ‘My Books’ section on the homepage.
There is a link that will direct you to all my books in ‘LuLu’ the online ‘print on demand’ printer and publisher. Thanks in advance for any purchases you make.
At the bottom of my list of notgeld printing companies, is a further list of locations that issued notged printed by ‘Gebr. Jaenecke, Hannover‘.
Please let me know if you come across any I have missed and I will of course add them in. I guess it will just be a matter of stumbling upon them or going through your collections / scan folders, to find them all.
Thanks in advance…….
The comment about the eggs and the chicks on the Dülmen 1-Mark note sounds proverbial, but is actually a specific quotation from the mayor in repsonse to an impossible ultimatum.
In November of 1622, in the early years of the Thirty Years’ War, Prince Bishop Ernst of Münster ordered the town to allow troops of the Catholic League to be given quarters there; the town refused but was forced to open its gates by the Imperial Army in February 1623.
As punishment for disobedience, the town councillors were arrested and their possessions and property confiscated; the town also lost its privileges. It is in this context that we see on the obverse a group of soldiers manhandling a prisoner (perhaps one of the councillors, stripped of his finery), while an officer asks “What is to happen with the prisoner?” (Was soll mit dem Gefangenen geschehen?) The prisoner might even be one of the town’s two mayors, Borgermester (in High German, Bürgermeister) Krumtunger, who is quoted on the reverse : „Schlot de Eier in de Pann’, dann kümmet do nich Küken van!”
From the date of 20th December 1622 on the reverse, we can take this as his reply to the Prince-Bishop’s order, complaining that the quartering of troops would impoverish the town and thus disadvantage the Prince-Bishop himself in terms of taxes.
The town, like most of Germany, did not fare well during the apocalyptic war; its experience included the particular horrors of the year 1635 in which it changed hands no fewer than 20 times.
As the info in the printer list is populated that list starts to become more clear. I have worked through just under 50% of what I aim to do now. I will continue over the next few weeks to build thej core listing and then add to it as and when……….
Today, I am very slowly starting to create a list of notgeld printers. I have just uploaded an ‘Intro’ and then the start of a basic list. Please don’t contact me as yet as I obviously need to populate the list. Once it gets to about 100, I think it will then be worth any further suggestions. I am trying to clarify the situation with notgeld printers and the ‘non-Reichsdruckerei’ banknote printers.
As I review the notes on Dulmen, I have to wonder if we have one of those phrases that are local is ‘If you break the eggs into the pan, you won’t get chicks coming out!’
Hi Jack,
There is indeed a plethora of local German dialects, and, to make things more fun, sub-dialects. The Serienscheine, as collectors’ issues, were a particular platform to showcase local pride in the form of costumes and customs, history and geography, flora and fauna, architecture and natural features, local institutions and indeed one’s own dialect. This is still a feature of local pride today, if one looks at tourist websites and visits local beer and wine festivals (definitely recommended). There’s a whole industry of dialect poets and writers and my own library contains a collection of books and poems (and even a version of the Bible) in the dialect of German I first learned, Pfälzisch.
Collectors specialising in Notgeld of a particular region (e.g. Thuringia, Bavaria) would like as not be speakers of or at least well-acquainted with the dialect. Collectors from further afield would know doubt enjoy puzzling out dialect terms (there’s a lot of de-coding and deciphering in Notgeld collecting, even of pictures or images, which is part of the fun). Holidaymakers bringing home Notgeld as souvenirs (e.g. from the Baltic or the North Sea resorts) would probably ask hosts and hoteliers.
But the fact remains that native German speakers (of whom I’m not one) would be very attuned to dialects not their own; it’s very often a case of transposing vowels sounds or consonant clusters. My German friends can often caricature other German accents, just as I can do passable imitations of other British accents beyond my local East London one.
As a native English speaker who’s spent a lot of time in Germany south of the River Main, I can usually pick up southern dialects of German reasonably quickly. I don’t have any affinity with or experience of Low German dialects or Eastern ones, except for what I’ve picked up through a study of Notgeld, and I must admit that I often struggle. Sometimes I have to brood over words or phrases for about a good week or more and spend ages on internet searches. So not just a few minutes … but thanks for the compliment!
I think your point about in-jokes is a very valid one. There are some notes which are so specific to a particular time and place that 100 years later we have little clue, e.g. especially if a local worthy lost to history is being caricatured, or a lost piece of local folklore is being referenced. I’m thinking particularly about notes from communities which were once German and are now in Poland or even Russia, where the old populations were forcibly relocated and dispersed; about buildings immolated by Allied bombing and Soviet artillery; about records destroyed and memories faded.
I think that Notgeld with a more national rather than local message, particularly political ones, are most likely to be found in standard German. And even if purchasers and collectors weren’t 100% sure of every word or turn of phrase, it may well have been the pictures which were the selling point.
As for the Eisbergen notes, which are most definitely in a version of Low German (of which there are many), they translate as :
25 Pf A
“Here in this valley of the Weser the Battle of Idistaviso took place. / There did our Hermann the German give the Romans a good whack on their waistcoats.”
50 Pf B
“Our church has stood for over a thousand years, The tower is really crooked, / But it still points upwards / Where God lives, and he likes it like that.”
50 Pf C
“Here in this room we pray to God / That he might help us out of great misery.”
1 Mk D
“In one corner of Westphalia, where the village of Eisbergen is situated, they never let their spirits sink, and if they ever do then there’ll be a lively eight-person set dance to set it right.”
An interesting point of perhaps misplaced local pride is the drubbing that the 25-Pfennig note insists the German war-chief Arminius (Hermann) gave to the Romans at the Battle on the River Weser (Battle of Idistaviso) in 16 AD; the Romans under Germanicus in fact defeated the German forces, and Hermann was wounded. Just sayin’.
The word that gave me the most headaches is on the 1-Mark note : “Achtturgen”. I eventually searched for it in using a number of possible High German spellings and in the context of the picture, showing a dance, and found it to mean a particular North German dance for four couples. Live and learn.
The two words on the front are in standard German, although the second one is perhaps archaic. The Vorsteher is the Chairman of the issuing bank and the Rendant is its Chief Accounting Officer.
Hope that this is of ineterest.
Best wishes as always
Greetings,
Today we look at Eisbergen an der Weser. Like quite a few series, this group has a historical theme. I cannot say how much is dialect confusion, or just some bad transcription?
And I begin to wonder how many hundreds of dialects I can expect to find in German Notgeld?
Now, I know that based on the circulated state of many notes, I believe there was circulation beyond the collector’s markets. I also know this is a minority view. Still, I must ask what were the collectors going to do if they could not read that local dialect? Where all collectors then were like John, where after looking for a few minutes they know as much as the people who designed that Notgeld note? Was this language an inside joke of some kind? People buy this but they have no real idea what they have? What value can any message of pride or politics, or anything have if it does not spread? How can it really spread if few people beyond the locals understands it?
<><><><><><>
25 Pfennig, Battle of Idistaviso, 01 Juli 1921, A 08845
Writing on the front:
Hier in dürfen Miasadaule
Was däi Idistaviso Schlacht
Dou schleug iufe Hermann däi Germaune
Däin Römern düchtig wat uppt Baft
(translated 05 April 2019)
Here in Miasadaule are allowed
What the Idistaviso battle
Dou threw Hermann the Germaune
Däin Romans thick wat uppt Baft
<<???>>
Writing on the back:
Der Vorsteher
(translated 05 April 2019)
Headmaster
<<???>>
Der Rendant
(translated 05 April 2019)
Der Rendant
<<???>>
50 Pfennig, Johannis der Täufer-Kirche, 01 Juli 1921, B 13342
Writing on the front:
Oaba diusent Johr staht iuse Kerke,
dai Teoan es recht scheif;
Doch weiset hei neo na boaben:
Doa muan Gott, Dain hewmet leif.
(08 April 2021)
Oaba diusent Johr staht iuse kerke,
dai Teoan it really shitty;
But tell, he neo na boaben:
Doa muan God, Dain hewmet leif.
<<???>>
Writing on the back:
Der Vorsteher
(translated 05 April 2019)
Headmaster
<<???>>
Der Rendant
(translated 05 April 2019)
Der Rendant
<<???>>
50 Pfennig, Johannis der Täufer-Kirche interior, Juli 1921, C 09626
Writing on the front:
Hier in düssen Riume bea tau Gott,
datt hei us mag helpen ut greota Neot
(translated 15 April 2021)
Here in duss Riume bea tau God,
datt hei us mag helpen ut greota neot
<<???>>
Writing on the back:
Der Vorsteher
(translated 05 April 2019)
Headmaster
<<???>>
Der Rendant
(translated 05 April 2019)
Der Rendant
<<???>>
01 Mark, Peasants Dancing, Juli 1921, D 20998
Writing on the front:
In dain einen Westfaulentimpen,
boa mua datt Doap Ahsbagen ligt,
laut’se nea dain Miut nich sinken,
funs wenn’t’n bullen Achtturgen gift.
(translated 15 April 2021)
In dain a Westphalian imp,
bao mua dat Soap expenses ligt,
loudly no dain miut don’t sink,
funs if’t a bull eight-door gift.
<<???>>
Writing on the back:
Der Vorsteher
(translated 05 April 2019)
Headmaster
<<???>>
Der Rendant
(translated 05 April 2019)
Der Rendant
<<???>>
<><><><><><><><><>
Thanks,
Jack
Hi Jack,
yes Sorrento and Naples and Capri were crowded and busy! But fortunately we found a couple of little oases of peace and quiet and loved the museums which were new to us.
The Eckernförde notes, which are indeed in the local version of Low German – there are soooo many versions – translate as :
50 Pfennig (Sailing Ship) :
WAT PLAGT JI JU UN QUÄLT JU AF MIT DUSEND LEGE SAKEN IN ECKERNFÖR DAR HEBBT WI’T RUT UT SÜLWER GOLD TO MAKEN
“Why do you plague and torment yourself with a thousand worries? In Eckernförde we have the ability to turn silver into gold.”
50 Pfennig (Megalithic Tomb at Goosefeld) :
WO UNS VADDERN ROHT WO SE SEIT HEBBT UN PLANT DAST IS FÖR UNS EN HILLIG LAND
“Where our forefathers rest, where they sowed and reaped, that is for us a holy land.”
1 Mark (Battle of Eckernförde, 5th April 1849)
AN UNS DÜTSCHEN STRAND WO WI TAGEN SÜND UN BORN HETT KEEN DÄN UN KEEN DÜWEL WEL WAT VERLORN
“Neither Dane nor devil has any business on our German strand where we were born and first saw the light of day.”
Best wishes as always and happy collecting!
Ello John,
Today we address # 306, Eckernfornde. It is a good series for history lovers. Or so I presume based on the images. I think it is Low German. I am certain it is German my translation program does not know.
50 Pfennig, Sailing Ship, # A 50048, 1921
Writing on the back:
Wat plagt Ji Ju un quält Ju af mit duzend lege saken in Eckernfor dar hebbt Wi’t Rut Ut Sulwer Gold to Maken
(translated 01 April 2021)
What plagues you Ju and torments Ju from with dozen bags in Eckernford, Wi’t Rut Ut Sulwer Gold to Maken
<<???>>
50 Pfennig, Neolithic Structure, 1921, # B 17065
Writing on the back:
Wo uns Vaddern Roht Wo So Seit Hebbt Un Plant Das is For Uns En Hillig Land
(translated 01 April 2021)
Where Vaddern Roht Us Where So Since He Is Planning That Is For Us En Hillig Land
<<??>>
01 Mark, Naval Battle,1921, # C 15177
Writing on the back:
An uns dütschen strand wo wi tagen sünd un born hett keen dän un keen düwel wat verlorn
(translated 05 April 2016)
At our German beach where wi days outrageously un born hett keen Danish un keen Düwel verlorn wat
<<???>>
Thanks,
Jack
Hi Jack!
the Dülmen originals and translations from medieval and Low German as follows :
Bischof Lodewyc bestätigt in besonderen Ausführungen, was Bischof Otto 1304 bereits kurz angekündigt hatte: „Dat unse Dorp to Dülmen van uns gezat tho eynem Stedikene tho makene”
Bishop Ludwig confirms in a specific statement that which Bishop Otto had announced shortly before in 1304 : “That our village of Dülmen be made a town by our decree”
“Schlot de Eier in de Pann’, dann kümmet do nich Küken van!
Borgermester Krumtunger, 20. December 1622
“If you break the eggs into the pan, you won’t get chicks coming out!”
Mayor Krumtunger,
20th December 1622Hope this helps! I’m posting from a train between Sorrento and Ercolano / Herculaneum – am missing my Notgeld collection while here in Italy so this was a welcome diversion.
Best wishes as always
Ready for help:
<><><><><><>
Dulmen
Greetings,
Thank you. Again, wise work.
Today wewill examine Dulmen. It is series 295.1. The first note I listed have no clue about. the second note I think I have, if the system was right about Luxemburgish.
Thank you for your guidance.
Jack
<><><><><><><><>
50 Pf, Town Charter 1311, # 30505, 01 Dec 1921
Writing on the front:
Bischof Lodewyc bestätigt in besonderen Ausführungen, was Bischof Otto 1304 bereits angekündigt hatte: „Dat unge Dorp to Dulmen van uns gezalt tho eynem Steditene tho mafene
(translated 05 March 2021)
Bishop Lodewyk confirms in special remarks what Bishop Otto had already announced in 1304: “Dat unge Dorp to Dulmen van uns gezalt tho eynem Steditene tho mafene
<<??>>
01 M, event on Dulmen 1622, # 26480, 01 Dec 1921
Writing on the front:
Schlot de Eier in de Pann de fummet do nich Kufen van!
Burgermeister Krumtunger, 20 December 1622
(translated 05 March 2021)
Put the egg in the pan and do not smoke from it!
Mayor Krumtunger, 20 December 1622
<in Luxembourgish>
<<<my thoughts:>>>
Put the egg in the pan and do not burn it!
Mayor Krumtunger, 20 December 1622
https://notgeld.com/gncc-notgeld-articles/elmshorn-story-of-money/
(As I am adding specific info to the website, I have had to make some small amendments so that all the options still appear when the list dropdowns are expanded.)
Hi Jack,
The text for all six Ditfurt notes and translations of the same follow :
1. Es war in jener alten Zeit, / als die Äbtissin Adelheid / von Ditfurt Steuern noch bekam, / die sie in Form von Eiern nahm.
It was back in the old days, when Abbess Adelheid of Ditfurt taxed the people, which she taxes she took in the form of eggs.
2. Die Bauern hatten’s weit zum Schloß, / das war es was sie stets verdroß,/ weshalb sie, wenn sie Eier brachten, / fast immer saure Mienen machten.
The peasants had a long way to go to the castle, and it was that which annoyed them, which is why they made such sour faces, when they brought the eggs.
3. Der Schulz sagt zum Gemeinderat, / der zum Beschluß zusammentrat : / Wat sollen wei da Eier dragen?/ Wei nehmen einen Ossenwagen!”
The reeve said to the town council, when they met to decide a course of action : “Why should we carry the eggs? We’ll take an ox cart!”
4. So kam der Steuertag heran. / Ein jeder brachte Eier an. / Voll war der Wagen bis zum Rand, / als manches Schock noch unten stand.
And so the day came when the tax was due. They all brought their eggs. The cart was filled up to the brim, but scores of eggs had not yet been loaded.
5. Da sagte eine Bauersfrau : Ach / Kinners, makt die Sache schlau. / Wei treten immer frisch und munter / dä Eier noch en betchen runter.
Thereupon said a farmer’s wife : “Oh, my little ones, do this cleverly. We’ll hop up and tread the eggs down a bit.”
6. Als einer nun das Werk getan, / lacht alles : “Seht das Geelbein an” / – Und Ditfurts Bauer ist im Land /als “Geelbein” heute noch bekannt.
Once one of them had done the job, they all laughed : “Look at Old Yellow Legs.” And Ditfurt country folk have been known as “Yellow Legs” ever since.
It’s a fun origins story of simple country folk doing simple (and daft) country things with the spoken words in Saxon dialect. And yes, I agree that the colour of the notes is not just a coincidence :).
Hope this helps!
Best wishes as always,
John
Greetings,
Today we look at series 275.2 of Ditfurt. I only have something of a clue on this one. According to google translate, ‘Geel’ means ‘yellow’ in Dutch. And there is a yellowish tone to the note. Beyond that, all I know is I have number two of six. Google translated the text, but the text seems odd standing alone. In this case, does anybody have the text and translations for all six of the series?
Thank you,
Jack
Hi Peter,
the note is from Elmshorn; Tony has provided images of the whole set, front and back; from the Home page, navigate to Categories > Serienscheine > Specific Towns > (towns) A-L > C-E > * Elmshorn. My translations for the entire set are also there.
The reverse of the 75-Pfennig note you have translates as : The recent war put us under pressure, it ate up all our gold and silver.- But pressure causes pushback – People will have to help themselves the best they can. We’re pushing back with the power of the printing press!
I’ve had to translate a little more freely and a little less tightly than I’d like, because the German relies on the related verbs drucken (“print”) and drücken (“press” / “push” / “apply pressure to”) and their common noun Druck (“printing” or “pressure”). In English, the translation changes according to the context. In German it’s a linguistic riff on the two senses of the words. The last line has the sense of “pushing back” and “printing back” [in reply].
The wider context of the series is that it’s a “History of Money”, with a wide historical but also ethnographic sweep of currencies and things of value, from the cows of the ancient Germans to the huge money stones of the island of Yap. Your 75-Pfennig note represents a satirical complaint against the war-driven replacement of gold and silver with the spiralling issue of a plethora of paper money notes. A perplexed bourgeois couple at the top of the note are swamped by the sheer volume of paper money, as indeed is the traditional guardian of gold and treasure, the dragon, at the bottom : it’s as though Bilbo meets Smaug on a pile of inflationary banknotes (although this predates The Hobbit, it has the same, and older, horde-guarding dragon motif).
Hope that this helps!
Best wishes and happy collecting!
Hi Jack,
the note is from “Diez in Nassau”, hence Dietz Nassawisch. The county of Diez was subsumed by the House of Nassau in the 14th century and was firmly part of the Duchy of Nassau until its annexation by Prussia in 1866, when it became part of the Prussian province of Hessen-Nassau.
The archaic German verse is a very, very loose translation of the Latin couplet above, which is in turn reliant on Ovid’s maxim half-quoted at the top : Omnia sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo (“All human things hang by a slender thread”), concerning the transience and fragility of all human endeavour. It translates as : “All human things upon this Earth, / All life, possessions and money, / All that we crave so much / Hangs upon a slender thread.”
Note the almighty hand at the top left-hand side of the note, holding a globe by a thread!
Hope this helps!
Best wishes as always
Can anyone tell me anything about this one, please? Where is it from…what does it say/what is the story?
I’ve been told that it has the snow scene on the other side, and is from Friedrichsbrunn, but the font is so dissimilar, that doesn’t seem right to me.Thanks for any help!
Greetings all,
Today we look at Diez. The notes I am looking at date to 1920. Several notes have these same mysteries for me. they appear German, but google translate does not seem to be able to get it just right.
Thanks,
Jack
Series # unknown, dated to December 1920:
10 pfg, townscape in the past/text, Dec 1920
Writing on the front:
Dietz Naßarvisch
(translated 28 February 2021)
Dietz Nassarvisch
<<?>>
Sill Menschlich ding auf dieser weldt,
das Leben felßst fampt Sut und Seldt,
Darnach uns doch so sehr verlangt,
An einem dünen faden hangt
(translated 28 February 2021)
Let human things on this world,
life fights Sut and Seldt,
We long for so much
Hangs on a dune thread
<<?>>
Hi Jack,
The language of the 75-Pfennig note is not only Low German but a medieval form of it; it translates as “Johann noble lord of Diepholz gave the citizens of Diepholz their town charter in the Year of God’s birth (sic) 1380”. The theology of this claim is fractionally dodgy as the year is 1380 after Christ’s birth, but hey …
The gentleman in question is Johann III of Diepholz, ruled 1378-1422. The line died out in 1585.
The reverse of 50-Pfennig note #1 (Lemförde) is in more modern Low German and reads : Wo et so vele Lumpen gift / Von Dag hier up de Welt / Is et keen Wunner dat man blot / Ut Lumpen makt dat Geld. / Ward doch so männig Lump verehrt / De keenen Pennig gelt an Wert.
One translation would be : “As there are so many ragged scraps / Around these days in the world / Then it’s no wonder that one just / Uses rags to make the money. / There’s many a raggedy scrap held in great esteem / Which isn’t worth a penny.”
On one level this seems to be bemoaning the worthlessness of paper money. Paper was often made from rags; I’ve just reminded myself how this was done with processes involving drums with revolving spikes called “devils”, caustic soda, lime, “breaking engines”, bleaching agents, “potching engines”, “half stuff”, “beating engines” etc. I seem to remember having this explained to me at an olde worlde paper mill about 45 years ago and my brain went as numb then as it does now..
Anyway, the word Lumpen (plural) has a double meaning in German; it can mean rogues or scoundrels or rascals or rapscallions (you get the idea), so the hidden meaning of the poem is : “There are so many scoundrels around in the world, …. There’s many a scoundrel held in great esteem / Who isn’t worth a penny.”
Sadly, English hasn’t got the same pair of homonyms so it’s difficult to bring out the double meaning in a single translation.
The 75-Pfennig note # 1 (Church) is also in more modern Low German. It translates as : “History tells us of the people of the parish that they have their own gallows and execution wheel, and a court that sits between the moor and the heathland, and that they eat buck wheat blossom honey and rye gruel. Long ago it was different, we used to have it so good, now everything is scarce again, even the rye for the bread.”
The word in inverted commas in the text, “Kaspeler” (with an additional -e for the dative plural), is a specifically local word for those who attend the church as part of the parish, the Kirchspiel, which Low German dialect renders here as Kaspel, hence Kaspeler = “parishioners. Thanks to Dr Ulrich Müller for his piece on the church at Barnstorf and this little gem of linguistic information.
I’ve translated the word Rad by way of explanation as “execution wheel” rather than just “wheel”, as this is one of the three examples of Diepholz having a measure of judicial independence, the other two being the self-explanatory gallows and court, i.e. they could try people and exact fines and impose punishments, including the death penalty. “Breaking on the wheel” was a particularly ghastly form of execution practised across Germany (although I’ve heard of at least one case in 17th-century France), details of which I don’t think I shall bother forum frequenters with here. If people are interested they can look it up, preferably not after having eaten.
I advise that especially because the 75-Pfennig note with the goose and the pig concerns their relative merits as food rather than cuddly farmyard friends. The Low German translates as :
“Goose breast is a thing we smoke, / Everyone knows that to be a fine dish, / And also a juicy slice of roast pork / Is nice when it turns out well. / And so we want at all times / To engage enthusiastically /In goose and pig husbandry.”
Hope that this is of use and interest!
Best wishes as always :)
Greetings John et all;
Once again, a very informative response by John.
Today we look at Diepholz.
75 pfg in series 272.1 involves somebody named Johann and a place named Diepholz. The rest may be in German. But it is another dialect of it… I think.
In fact, I think this dialect, if that is the cause, may well be the issue with 272.3
Thanks,
Jack
<><><><><>
75 pfg, Johann in 1380, 18 July 1921
Writing on the front:
Johann edele here tho Depholt hedde den Borgern tho Depholt de stades recht gegenen na Gades gebort A. 1380.
(translated 13 November 2020)
Johann edele here tho Depholt hedde the Borgern tho Depholt de stades right against na Gades born A. 1380
<<???>>
SERIES 273.3:
50 pfg, Lemforde, 15 Aug 1921, # 1420
Writing on the front:
Wo et so vele Lumpen gifft
Bondag heir up de Welt
Is et keen Wunner dat man Blot
Ut Lumpen Makt dat Geld
Ward doch so manning Lump verehrt
De keenen Penning gelt an Wert
(translated 20 November 2020)
Where there are so many rags
Bondag heir up the world
Is et keen Wunner dat one blot
Ut rags Makt dat money
Was such a manning scoundrel worshiped
De keenen penning is valued
<<???>>
75 pfg, Kirche, 15 Aug 1921, # 4557
Writing on the Front:
Von den Kaspelern vermelet de Geschicht
Se harrn en eegen Galgen Rad un Gericht
Dat se binnen Moor un Heidentum heft seeten
Bokweetenjanhinnerk un Rogenbree eeten
All langst wor dat anners et gung us so good
Nu is alls weddr Knapp ok de Roggen ton brod
(translated 25 November 2020)
The story is told by the Kaspelern
They have their own gallows wheel in court
That they lived within Moor and Heidentum
Eat buckwheat and rye bread
All long was that otherwise it went so well for us
Now all weddr Knapp is ok the Rye tons of bread
<<???>>
75 pfg, Bauer mit Schwein und Gans, 15 Aug 1921, # 18354
Writing on the front:
Gerökert is de Gosebost
jeder ‚weet ‘ne leckre Kost
Un ak en saft’ge Sweinebraen
Is moje wenn he god geraen
Us op de Gos=un Sweintucht smieten
(translated 26 November2020)
Gerökert is de Gosebost
As everyone knows some delicious food
Un ak en juicy Sweinebraen
Is moje when he god got it
Us op de Gos = to rent a swine towel
<<???>>
Text by: J H Wordermann <?>
Hi Jack,
The Dessau set is one of my favourites! The notes recall episodes and stories from the life of Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (1676-1747), known affectionately as der alte Dessauer (the Old Dessauer). Considered a military genius, he is credited with inventing marching in time to speed up the movement of infantry formations, and the invention of the metal ramrod. He perfected infantry drill and was known as the “drillmaster of the Prussian army”. A real character, the prince was given a starring role in a volume of humorous anecdotes by the popular author Karl May.
Note 1 : The slow infantry march, the Dessauer March or simply “the Old Dessauer”, was first played after the Battle of Cassano on 16th August 1705.
– Note 2 : Upon his accession, Prince Leopold married his childhood sweetheart, the court apothecary’s daughter Anna Luise Föhse.
– Note 3 : At the First Battle of Höchstedt (or Höchstädt) on 20th September 1703, Prince Leopold saved the Imperial army from utter destruction by his spirited rearguard action against the French and Bavarians.
– Note 4 : The Second Silesian War (1744-45) was part of the War of Austrian Succession (1740-48) and confirmed Prussian control of the Austrian province of Silesia.
– Note 5 : In the Battle of Kesselsdorf on 15th December 1745, the Prussians under Prince Leopold defeated the joint Saxon and Imperial army under Field Marshal Rutowsky. The quotation in Note 4 and the prayer in Note 5 are both supposed to have been uttered by the Old Dessauer before this battle.
– Note 6 : According to local legend, the prince once asked some market traders in pottery how profitable their day had been. When they lamented a bad day’s trading, Leopold drove his horse repeatedly through their wares and then told them to go up to the palace where they would be compensated for the breakages, thus ensuring that they turned a good profit.
Hope this helps! Best wishes as always
‘REVALUED GEMS (Volume 1)’ has just been published for anyone who is interested. John and Marcel helped me get this project off the ground and to its completion. It contains ALL the revalued / overprinted serienscheine pieces AND other grossgeld and inflationary notgeld pieces A – K.
I hope the collectors like it.
Ello all,
Today we look at Dessau. It tells a tale across several notes. I am wondering if anybody can offer the full tale by note.
Translations are not an issue today. Understanding the context is.
Thanks for all the help you can offer.
I have placed here the interesting story of the windmill shown on the Daler notes.
Old Bockmolle
The windmill at Dybbol is not just a building that has been existent in some form for several centuries. It has been a souce of pride. Both in how it supported the locals militarily, and in supporting the locals in a culinary rebellion. The cakes this windmill helped to produce would become a tradition of rebel cakes in southern Jutland.
Records have a windmill at this site grinding wheat into flour as early as 1774. It has been battled by wars and burnt at least twice. The rebel cakes came about because in 1864 combined forces of the Kingdom of Germany and the Austro Hungarian Empire occupying Southern Jutland. For whatever reason, the occupying forces would not permit the community centers the locals used to have alcohol licenses. So cakes went from side items to the centerpieces. To further the point of not giving up any more than they had to, they used the flour from the local mill. They were going to stay as unchanged as much as they could.
Flour and food aside, the windmill at Dybbol had a more memorable impact on Danish history. To start with, there was a second Schleswig war in 1864. And windmills were among the tallest of buildings in rural environments. So it makes sense for the Danish forces to use the high vantage point for military purposes. In 1864 the was as an observation post, sending signals to the troops in battle. Sadly, for the Danish Army, the Prussian – Austrian army was better prepared. Victory went to the invaders and along with it went Southern Jutland.
It would burn to ruin during the year 1913.
Hi Jack,
it’s actually the Dead Maar rather than the Dead Sea (Totes Meer), a maar being a low-lying volcanic crater usually filled with a lake. The maar in question is actually the Weinfeld Maar in the volcanic Eifel region, made famous by the slightly obsessive artist Fritz von Wille, who painted it repeatedly with the small chapel of St Martin on the north bank, as seen on the note. The cemetery surrounding the chapel is still in use, which is where the maar gets its other name, the Totenmaar or Maar of the Dead. The note renders the name as the Dead Maar : Am Toten Maar, which is grammatically incorrect.
The Latin Eifliam nescit qui Dunam ignorat means : “He does not know the Eifel who does not know Daun”.
Best wishes as always,
John
Ello all.
Today we look at Daun. The dead sea line does translate word wise. Yet I would have to wonder why the locals would want to advertise a dead sea. Or at least using that name. this is a filled volcano who waters are not at all dead. A biblical reference I am not realizing? Or just honoring the sea or lake in a dead volcano.
50 pfennig, Am Toten Maar, 20 Feb 1920, #026223
Writing on the front:
Am Toten meer bei Daun
(translated 6 March 2014)
At the Dead Sea near Daun
Eifliam nescit qui dunam ignorat
(translated 18 March 2014)
Eifliam not know who does not know Daun.
<<???>>
Thanks,
Jack
Hi Jack,
The Dalhausen text, taken from a plaque recording the founding of Our Lady’s Church in Dalhausen, a site of local pilgrimage, is indeed in Latin, although less of a Latin than Julius Caesar would have recognised. It’s not Classical Latin but post-Medieval Latin, Church Latin and a bit of German-inflected Greek thrown in.
There’s also an error in transcription, with unhelpful commas added mid-word; as is not unusual with Latin on monuments, it also has words running directly from one line into the next, and some words running directly into others without spacing, and some words abbreviated. So what you can read is this :
IN HONOREM MAGNÆ / MATRIS VIRGINIS / IMMACULATÆ ECCLE / SIA HÆCEX FUNDA, /MENTO ÆDIFICATA / SUMPTIBUS PRÆNOBI, / LIS ASCETEREY GERDEN / SIS SUBRMA ACPRAENO, / BILI DÑA VICTORIA DORO, / THEADEIUDEN ABBATISSA
But when one tidies up the Latin, you get this :
IN HONOREM MAGNÆ MATRIS VIRGINIS IMMACULATÆ ECCLESIA HÆCEX FUNDAMENTO ÆDIFICATA SUMPTIBUS PRÆNOBILIS ASCETEREY GERDENSIS SUB R[O]MA AC PRAENOBILI DÑA VICTORIA DOROTHEA DE IUDEN ABBATISSA
Which translates in to English as this :
“In honour of the Great and Immaculate Virgin Mother this building was erected at the expense of the noble abbey of Gehrden under [the Holy See of] Rome and the noble Lady Victoria Dorothea von Juden, [its] abbess.
Hope this helps!
Best wishes as always,
John
Ello all,
Today we look at Dalhausen in Westphalia. Some of the text seems to be in Latin, though the conjoined AE characters may be throwing things off. Latin mixed with another dialect perhaps?
<><><><><><><><><>
<below is Latin>
In Honorem Magnae,
Matris Virginis
Immaculate Eccle
Sia Haecex Funda
Mento Aedificata
Sumptibus Praenobi
Lis Ascetery Gerden,
Sis SubRma AcPraeno,
Bili Dna, Victoria Doro
Theade Iuden Abbatissa
Anno 1718
(translated 24 October 2020)
To the greater honor of
Virgin Mother
immaculata Church
Established Sheva Haecex
The rib chin
Ex Praenobi
Us Ascetery Gerden,
Please SubRma AcPraeno;
Bili DNA, Victoria Dorus
Thead iudcum Abbatissa
in the year 1718
<???>
Thanks,
Jack
Hi Jack,
regarding the Daler set, I think your translations from the Danish are pretty spot on. In my own translations for my collection, I had the couplet on the reverse of the notes as “We have long had such a longing and yearning / This year we will farm with gladness and song”. The word avler does mean “breed” but it also means “cultivate” so I assumed that the rural inhabitants of the small parish of Daler were looking forward to going about their agricultural work with greater joy, now that they had the prospect of being restored to Denmark, having been annexed by Prussia in 1867.
You’re absolutely right about the reference to the plebiscite. The first North Schleswig Plebiscite, for Zone I, took place on 10th February 1920 (hence the Vort Ønske er opfyldt den 10. Februar 1920 : “Our wish was fulfilled on the 10th February 1920”. The notes were issued on 10th April, so after the votes had been counted and verified by the Treaty Commission and the result of the plebiscite had been announced, but before the transfer of power which was to take place on 15th June – which is why the notes were issued in Pfennigs rather than Øre, as Daler still had another couple of months belonging to Germany.
Best wishes as always,
John
Ello all,
Today we have Daler. The system seems to think the text is in Danish. However, some of the translations seem a bit off. Also there may be some cultural references I am missing.
25 pfg, Windmill, 10 Apr 1920, # 42761
Writing on the front:
Den gamle Bockmolle i Daler
Bygget 1770 Nedbrændt 1913
<above is Danish>
(translated 27 September, 2014)
The old Bockmolle in Daler
Built 1770 Burnt down 1913
Vi har saa ofte saa et i Længsel og Trang
I dette Aar avler vi med Glade og Sang
<above is Danish>
(translated 27 September, 2014)
We so often have one in longing and longing
This year we breed with joy and song
<<breed???>>
Writing on the back:
Vort Onske er opfyldt
Den 10 Februar 1920
<above is Danish>
(translated 27 September, 2014)
Our request is fulfilled
The February 10, 1920
>>>does this refer to the Danes wining the plebiscite?
Thanks again,
Jack
But what about the poor servant who had to get the donkey back down???
It is reasonably certain the donkey did not want to go up those stairs in the first place.
lol
Hi Jack,
The Coblenz- Neuendorf series is an interesting one, issued against the background of the intended French destruction of the fortress town Koblenz’s system of forts (in the event, only the Feste Kaiser Alexander and small parts of the Fort Großfürst Konstantin were destroyed, and Ehrenbreitstein was entirely spared). The reverse of the 50-Pfennig note commemorates the glorious dead of the recent Great War with a cenotaph decorated with oak leaves, a Stahlhelm and a bayonet, declaring the town to be Loyal to [the memory of] the Dead (Treu den Toten). It centres on a mash-up of lines 5-12 of verse 10 of Schiller’s 1803 poem Das Siegesfest (The Victory Festival) which celebrates the fallen heroes of the Trojan War.
The original is : Der für seine Hausaltäre / Kämpfend ein Beschützer fiel – / Krönt den Sieger größre Ehre, / Ehret ihn das schönre Ziel! / Der für seine Hausaltäre / Kämpfend sank, ein Schirm und Hort, / Auch in Feindes Munde fort / Lebt ihm seines Namens Ehre (He who fell as a protector / Fighting for his house’s altars – / Greater honour crowns the victor, / And honours him the finer goal! / He who collapsed as defender and treasure / Fighting for his house’s altars, / The honour of his name lives on / Even in the mouths of his enemies).
The note has it thus : Wer für seine Hausaltäre / Kämpfend ein Beschirmer fiel – / Krönt den Sieger größ‘re Ehre, / Ehret ihn das schön‘re Ziel! (Whosoever fell as a defender / Fighting for his house’s altars – / Greater honour crowns the victor, / And honours him the finer goal!)
On the front it has the terms of validity : Dieser Gutschein verliert seine Gültigkeit 3 Monate nach Ausstellung (This note loses its validity three months after the date issued). The word Ausstellung can mean “exhibition” – and there are notes issued on the occasion of Notgeld exhibitions e.g. at Kahla – but it can also mean “issuing”.
The reverse of the 75-Pfennig note depicts a well-known address in the Koblenz suburb of Neuendorf, namely Am Ufer 11 (Number 11, On the Riverbank), otherwise known as Das Haus der Nell (The House of the Nell Family). It has a historic archway (Historisches Tor), depicted here, with an ancient inscription, which can still be seen today : DIESES HAUS UND HOFE SIND FREIJ, WER ES NICHT GLABEN WIL, DER LECC MICH IM ARSCH UND GEHE VORBEIJ (“This house and courtyard are free, whoever doesn’t believe it can kiss my arse and pass on by”). “Free” in this sense means owned by a free family of proud lineage; the vulgarism literally invites the unbeliever to “lick me in the arse”, which as a phrase has a certain pedigree in German (it’s what the knight Götz von Berlichingen famously invited the Emperor to do back in the 16th century).
The picture shows a particular scion of the Nell family, either Major Peter von Nell or Major Christian von Nell, or at any rate the presumed builder of the house in the early 18th century. The verse claims him to be an amusing man, no doubt because of the inscription he had placed above the archway : EIN LUSTIGER GESELL, / DAS WAR DER MAJOR NELL, / BIS AUF DEN SÖLLER RITT ER JUST / MIT SEINEM ESEL VOLLER LUST, / DOCH SEINEN BÖSEN NACHBARN SCHIER / VEREHRT ER DIESE INSCHRIFT HIER (“A droll fellow / Was Major Nell, / He rode upon his donkey full of spirit / All the way up to his attic room, / But with this inscription here / He honours his awful neighbours). In other words, the inscription is an amusing and vulgar way of warning away trespassers who might enter into his courtyard.
Well might he issue the warning! These days Neuendorf has a bit of a reputation as a problem neighbourhood, a sozialer Brennpunkt as the Germans say. Only last Christmas the denizens of this troubled area on the north of the Moselle and the west of the Rhine, just above where the rivers meet at the Deutsches Eck, were shooting fireworks at the police. It’s an area beset by gang culture and drugs.
By the way, like most German towns formerly beginning with the letter C (e.g. Crefeld, Cranichfeld, Cüstrin), Coblenz swapped its initial letter to a K and became Koblenz during the Weimar period (in this case, on 14th May 1926).
Hope this is all of interest! Apart perhaps from the suburb of Neuendorf, Koblenz is definitely worth a visit; although I was once troubled in the toilet at McDonald’s there back in 1988 by an unreconstructed type (possibly from Neuendorf), I’ve enjoyed the town a number of times, especially for the “Rhine in Flames” in the summer when boats on the river provide a mobile firework show which is legal, above board and not aimed at the forces of law and order. Rather unfortunately, the last time I was there I woke up to the realisation that I had caught Covid! Oops.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Ello all,
Today we look at Coblenz Neuendorf. It seems to be another series that honors the dead. Sadly for those who survived, the Great War would have produced a lot of inspiration for war related notes. Notes that as often as not would bring to mind the lost.
50 Pfennig, 01 October 1921, war memorial?
Writing on the front:
1914 Treu den Toten 1918
(translated 29 March, 2016)
1914 Trust the Dead 1918
<or>
1914 the Faithful Dead 1918
(As I have said, my project is to find the message in the money for the person holding the note. I can see a message being sent with either. I suspect it is the second, but not absolutely sure)
Wer für seine hausaltäre kämpfend, ein beschirmer, fielkrönt den sieger gröss’re ehre, ehret ihn das schön’re ziel!
(translated 29 March, 2016)
Who fight for his house altars, a protector of, was crowned the winner gröss’re honor, it honors the schön’re goal!
<???>
Writing on the back:
Dieser gutschein verliert seine Gültigkeit 3 monate nach ausstellung
(translated 29 March, 2016)
This voucher is valid until replaced 3 months after exhibition
<???>
(another new term to my work. Was this sold/circulating at an exhibition of some kind?)
75 Pfennig, 01 October 1921, historic gate?
Writing on the front:
Nachbarn schier verehrt er diese inschrift hier, ein lust iger gesall das war das major nell, bis auf den söller ritt er just mit seinem esel voller lust, doch seinenbösen.
(translated 29 March, 2016)
Neighbors seemingly he worshiped this inscription here, a funny gesall that was the major nell until the upper chamber he rode just with his ass full of lust, but his evil.
<???>
Dieses Haus und Hofe ist Frei
Wer es nicht glaben wilder lecc nich am aschvnd gehevodrbejj
(translated 29 March, 2016)
This house and Hope is free
Those who do not believe it wild LECC nich gehevodrbejj on aschvnd
<???>
<also not sure I read the text over the arch correctly>
Thanks,
Jack
Thanks John.
Tony… Oh, it is. the only way to move any faster is to give up trying to translate the notes myself and just send the text stright to him.
lol
forgive me if I still try to put some effort into it. :)
Thanks John!
Jack – I hope your project is really progressing well now with John’s expert input.
Hi Jack,
The six notes tell the story of how the wooden statue of the town’s Roland (see also my earlier post on the Bad Bramstedt notes) was carved in 1656-1658 by the master wood carver of Magdeburg, Gottfried Gigas. It was, sadly, burned by the townspeople for fuel during the harsh post-war winter of 1946-1947.
In 1976 a sandstone version, based on pictures of its predecessor, replaced the lost Roland. It has the foreshortened and disproportionate arms of the 17th-century version.
Here’s are the original texts and translations.
Picture 1
Zu drein schritt würdig durch das Tor / Der hochwohlweise Rat hervor.
The council of the town, most wise / As a trio stepped worthily through the gate /
Picture 2
Gemächlich ging er aus zum Wald / Und fand dort eine Eiche bald.
Nun höre, Meister Holzstecher – Daraus mach‘ einen Roland Er!
Leisurely the went out to the woods / And soon found an oak tree there.
Now listen, Master Woodcutter – / Make from it a statue off Roland!
Picture 3
Mit Messer, Stichel, Stift und Schlag / Trat Kopf Leib und Fuß zutag.
Doch für die Arme – mögt verzeihn / Ihr Herren! – ist dieser Stamm zu klein
With knife, chisel, bradawl and hammer / The head and body and feet appeared.
But for the arms – forgive me, / My lords! – this tree trunk is too small
Picture 4
Sie schritten wieder hin zum Wald / Und fanden auch das Stämmchen bald.
Nun höre, Meister Holzstecher – / Daraus mach‘ nun die Arme Er!
They stepped out to the woods once more / And found the little tree trunk soon.
Now listen, Master Woodcutter – / Make from it now the arms!
Picture 5
Ein Schmäuschen gab die Stadt zum Lohn / Doch Roland fehlt – die Proportion!
The town gave a small banquet as a reward / But Roland lacks – proportion!
Picture 6
Wohl hält er treulich seine Wacht, / Nur weint vor Scham er, kommt die Nacht.
Loyal and well he keeps his watch, / But he weeps for shame, when night falls.
The last picture of the poor disproportionate Roland with his little arms, coming to life at night, turning his back in shame and weeping into his hands as the moon looks on, is quite touching in a Toy-Story kind of way. You can find a picture of Calbe’s Roland at
http://www.calbe.de/tourismus-kultur/sehenswertes/der-roland/index.html.
Hope that this is helpful.
Best wishes as always.
Thank you.
Any source that has the complete text/ translation of these Caabe notes?
It is interesting. As much as these are for collectors, it would shock me greatly if nobody tried to use them as currency. As I understand it, the value of the national currency was dropping quicker than gravity, and notgeld was based on hard currency or asset the issuer had access to. Then again, a one day fair was a good as any to limit their exposure to any collectors who would not want to lose them. A guaranteed fundraiser for those that issued them.
Hi Jack! – I was just thinking out allowed here really – some of the notes that were issued for collector exhibitions would have only been valid for 1 or 2 days……but good little observation with the Calbe notes!
Ello all,
The information, as always has been useful. Today we look at Calbe an der Saale.
This series appears to literally tell a story. Possibly something about a Roland statue? Currently I only have two of the notes scanned but prob have more in a few albums I have set a side while I do the first group.
Incidentally, this is the first series I have encountered that seems to be good for one day only.
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50 pfg, Bild 2, Group and Woodcutter, 23 Apr 1917, # 81954
Duplicate: # 87215
Writing on the front:
Stadt Calue a.d. Saale
(translated 07 October 2020)
Calbe an der Saale
<Calue is an older word for ‘woods’?>
>>so ‘woods on the Saale… effectively it seems they named the place ‘
Gemächlich Ginger aus zum Wald
Und fand dort eine Eiche bald
Nun höre Meister Holzstecher
Durans mach einen Roland Er!
(translated 07 October 2020)
Leisurely Ginger out to the forest
And soon found an oak tree there
Now listen to Master Holzstecher
Durans make a Roland He!
<<???>>
(possibility that ‘Ginger’, ‘Holztecher’ and ‘Durans’ are names with the idea this is an image of them instructing the woodsman/artist to make a Roland statue?)
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50 pfg bild 6, ?????, 23 Apr 1917, # 162786
Writing on the front:
Wohl halt treulich seine Wacht,
Nur weint vor Scham er, kommt die Nacht
(translated 09 October
Keep his watch faithfully,
Only he cries in shame, the night comes
>>>translation of words, ok. Seeming to make sense, not so much
Thanks,
Jack
Hi Jack,
Regarding the 25-Pfennig Butzbach note, yes it is indeed in a dialect of German, this time Hessisch (in English, Hessian), as Butzbach is about 15 miles north of Frankfurt in the Federal State of Hessen.
The picture shows locals in their traditonal dress, worn on high days and holidays and special occasions. Such Trachtenfeste (festivals in traditional local costume) are a major draw for outsiders; we as a family go to a couple of them every summer in Bavaria. Down there it’s lots of leather trousers, dirndls and hats with goats’ beards, although some villages have Tracht not dissimilar to that shown here, with tricorns and frock coats and bolero jackets and pillbox hats. So the people looking out of the note at the beholder are issuing an invitation : Wollt’r üüs leawig sih, / Müsst’r uff Boutschbach gih (“If you want to see us in real life, / Then you have to go to Butzbach”).
Hope this is of interest and assistance! Best wishes as always.
Hi David!
I have now got hold of a copy and am about half way through it. Yes, quite hard going in places but very good ofr understanding of the time and situation and the causes of all the monetary problems, including of course the hyper-inflation.
Greetings all.
Today have the joy of thinking about Butzbach., specifically series 212.1a.
I am guessing this is yet another Dialect that is somehow German in its way?
25 pfg, peasants, # 60573, 06 May 1921
Writing on the front:
Wall’r uus leawig sih Musst‘r uff Boutschbach gih
(translated 29 September 2020)
Wall’r uus leawig sih Mustst‘r uff Boutschbach gih
<<???>>
Thoughts on the front image:
<<Groups of people looking out from the notgeld note as if they were ‘breaking the fourth wall’>>
Thanks again,
Jack
Hi Jack,
the quotations you’re looking at on the Bützow notes are in the Mecklenburger Platt dialect and come from one of Fritz Reuter’s works, Ut mine Festungstid (“My Time in Prison”), where the authors narrates amusing autobiographical episodes from his years imprisoned in a Prussian fortress as a political undesirable.
On the 25 Pfennig : Wat nützt uns de Leiw’, wenn de Nohrung fehlt (What use is love, when we don’t have food) comes from Chapter 24 of the book.
On the 50 Pfennig note : Uns’ Herrgott helpt blot den, de sick sülwen helpt! (The Lord our God helps only him who helps himself!) is from Chapter 12.
There is a useful book on the Reutergeld, but it’s in German : Das mecklenburgische Reutergeld von 1921 by Ingrid Möller. It’s also available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.
Best wishes as always,
John
Greetings,
Thanks John, that was quite an interesting view into the legal systems of Brauchhausen during those times. Troubling as the justice system may seem to defendants these days, this shows that it was worse before.
Today we review series 205.1 in Butzow. It is a reutergeld series. One of these I am going to try to buy a set of all the reutegeld town issues. I have to wonder if there is a dedicated book written by and or for reutergeld collectors that covers what quotes the issuer was looking at.
Thanks all,
Jack
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25 pfg, Fruit farmer, 28 Feb, 1922
Writing on the back:
Mat nutzt uns de Leiw‘ wenn de Nohrung Fehlt
(translated 26 September, 2020)
Mat is useful to us when there is no learning
<<???>>
50 pfg, Townscape, 28 Feb, 1922
Writing on the back:
Uns Herrgott helpt blot den die sick sülwen helpt
(translated 26 September, 2020)
Lord God help blot that sick sülwen helps
<<???>>
Hi Jack,
the Bruchhausen notes depicts a court scene of the day of the Heilige Fehme, not the Holy Woman but the Sacred Fehme Court of Bruchhausen; the Fehme or Vehme courts were secret courts or tribunals which were active, principally in Westphalia, during the Middle Ages, although they continued to exist until the introduction of the Napoleonic Code in the first years of the 19th century. Here are my notes on the scene :
Against a background of oakleaves, that very German of symbols, a handbill appears to be nailed, in the fashion of the summons to the Fehme court which the accused would find affixed to his door in the dead of night. Upon it, a short sword is stylised to form the figure 1, and pieces of rope to form the word Mark. The main image shows a table beneath an oak tree from which a noose is already suspended, the means by which the guilty would be punished, left hanging in a public place as a warning; on the table is a sword, symbolising the right of the court to issue sentences of death. Also on the table is a book, most likely a bible to administer oaths, and a cross which lends the table the appearance of an altar. The whole scene takes place in a town square, which is perhaps surprisingly public for a supposedly secret court; the Fehme courts are popularly believed to have been convened at night time.
In this case, the secrecy is maintained by the judges wearing black gowns and black hoods; the figure on the left is seen side on, and we can see that the hood stretches all the way down his back. Traditionally there were, as here, seven lay judges or Freischöffen, the leader of whom was known as the chairman or Stuhlherr. The eighth man in black, taller, muscular, dressed in figure-hugging doublet, breeches and hose, and standing menacingly behind the bound prisoner, is surely the executioner.
A picture from the 1375 Herforder Rechtsbuch (“Book of Law” of Herford, also in Westphalia) shows a Fehme court in session, with features recognisable on the notes – the sword on the table, the reliquary with a cross on top for administering oaths, even the long hoods of the lay judges. The secrecy of the gathering does not appear to be of paramount importance here, perhaps because it is a closed session.
In the 1920s, murders of political opponents by the Far Right, particularly by the secret Organisation Consul and its successors, were called Fehmemorde (Fehme murders) after the whistle-blowing article and follow-up book (Verschwörer und Fehmemörder – Conspirators and Fehme Murderers) of former member Carl Mertens in 1925. These included the murders of the head of the Bavarian Socialist republic Kurt Eisner in 1919, of the Communist politician Karl Gareis and the Armistice signatory Matthias Erzberger in 1921, and of Foreign Minister Walter Rathenau in 1922. Is it perhaps a striking coincidence that the issue of these notes in May of 1921 was followed by the murder of Gareis in June and Erzberger in August?
Hope this is helpful to you and of interest to GNCC members!
Best wishes as always!
Correction of error to previous post on Brehna series (must be getting old) :
There are sixteen notes, not twelve. And the towns on them are : 1. Brehna 2. Bitterfeld 3. Clöden (now Klöden on the Elbe) 4. Elster 5. Herzberg 6. Jessen 7. Kemberg 8.Löbnitz 9. Lochau (now going by the name of Annaburg since the 16th century in fact; not be confused with the Lochau near Leipzig) 10. Muldenstein 11. Brettin 12. Pouch (pronounced roughly similar to the English word “poke“) 13. Schlieben 14. Schweinitz 15. Wettin and 16. Löben.
Sorry for any confusion. And sorry, Tony, if you’ve already set off on an epic journey to find these places with the previous dodgy information …
I guess either i terribly misidentified the note, or we finally found a note I need to paste.
Ello,
Today we look at Bruchhausen. Specifically, Series 190.1, 01 Mk, Schloss Bruchhausen, 01 May 1921. Here the front image is a bit dramatic. If I am to believe my translation of the front image, we are looking at the ‘Holy Woman of Bruchhausen’. The words translated, yet the scene does not. This does not seem a scene of great respect. What am I missing?
Thanks,
Jack
Hi Jack,
The Brehna 25-Pfennig pieces all have the coat of arms of the ancient County of Brehna (here in the archaic spelling : Brene), three red hearts inset with trefoils on a silver field, placed back-to-back with the arms of Saxony. They all read Grafschaft Brene umfaßte (“[The] County of Brehna encompassed”) and each note has a different town or village. Number 3 is Clöden [on the Elbe]; nowadays it’s spelled as Klöden. The other towns and villages are : 1. Brehna 2. Bitterfeld 4. Elster 5. Herzberg 6. Jessen 7. Kemberg 8.Löbnitz 9. Lochau 10. Muldenstein 11. Brettin 12. Löben.
Hope this helps!
John,
Thank you for all your help with Braunschweig, that town of beer and bread.
Today we address the town of Brehna.
Series 160.2:
25 Pfg, Bild 3 Lloden, townscape, July 1921
Umfasste: 3. Löden
(translated 13 September 2020)
Included: 3. Löden
<<???>>
Thanks, Jack
Hi Jack,
the other statues you intended to ask after are :
25 Pfennig : Duke Henry the Lion and his wife Matilda of England (again); here the likenesses are taken not from the old town hall (as on the 50-Pfennig note) but from their tomb in the cathedral.
75 Pfennig : the figures are from the facade of the town St Andrew’s Church, and represent the Holy Family on the Flight into Egypt, with St Joseph on the left and the Madonna and Christ Child on a donkey on the right. When I went to Brunswick the church was covered in scaffolding, but fortunately the scaffolding itself was then helpfully covered with a hoarding showing the figures hidden behind it.
Hi Jack,
the translation of Awer de Deigapen backet noch immer! is in the third paragraph of my reply under 155.1 25 Pfennig Eulenspiegel as a baker; the German text is in the second line, as the final clause of the rendering of the German in italics; the English translation (“But those pastry monkeys are still baked today!”) is at the end of the third line and runs into the fourth. I didn’t think I’d missed anyhting, but I appreciate that there was a lot of text in my post.
To see a picture of the traditional pastry owls and apes which are still baked in Brunswick today, go to : https://www.braunschweig.de/tourismus/ueber-braunschweig/spezielles/spezi_apen.php.
I feel that my trip to Brunswick to sample the beer may now involve a sampling of their pastries … not that I need an excuse …
Best wishes as always,
John
Sorry, could not find a way to edit my prev post:
The statues I referred too where not on a single bulding, but to the statues in the panels of the 25, 50 and 75 pfg notes
thanks
