Day 59: Itzehoe, 1921

“Day 59: This is a 4 note set issued on sometime in 1921 by the city of Itzehoe. The denominations included in the set are 25 Pf, 50 Pf, 75 Pf, and 1 Mk.

This is one of my favorite sets of Notgeld. They were designed by a famous German Expressionist artist named Wenzel Hablik. Not only are the designs very striking and modern, but they have some surprisingly overt social and political commentary integrated within the artwork. For example, on the 1 Mark note, you might first notice that the design features an abstract illustration of a person smoking a pipe, but if you look a bit longer you might realize where the black number "1" came from just underneath the character.

The catalog value for this complete set of 4 notes is around $6 - $10, but are one of the more popular sets and sometimes sell for a bit more at auction.”

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