History·21 May 2026·4 min read
Notgeld — emergency money, when the state runs out of coin
In Germany after World War I, towns printed their own money. Tiny works of art on paper, born out of crisis.
When Germany's official currency went into crisis, towns, local banks and even companies began issuing their own emergency money: Notgeld ("emergency money"). They were accepted locally, as a temporary fix when there weren't enough official coins or banknotes.
The crisis that became art
Many towns seized the chance to print beautifully colored banknotes, with stories, legends and local humor. Today they are collector's items. Notgeld shows something essential: money appears wherever people need a means of exchange and trust — even without a state to issue it.
