Horrific times, Ann. War, human atrocities, ruthless dictators, crushing defeats, and financial collapse plagued Germany during the years of the World Wars. To keep their heads above water, many German cities issued their own coinage since the imperial coins were completely worthless. It was an emergency and replacement money was needed. That's what Ersatzgeld means: replacement money.

Similar coins were issued during the American Civil War and other crises. These coins are called Civil War Tokens and Hard Times Tokens. You can find them at this CoinQuest link.

Hundreds of different patterns of ersatzgeld, better known today as notgeld, were issued by dozens of German cities. Yours is from Miesbach in Bavaria.

As to value, there are collectors who specialize in notgeld, and if you do a search on eBay for notgeld you will find hundreds of examples. Most sell for a few US dollars. Google notgeld and you will find several interesting sites full of information. Notgeld were issued as both coins and paper money.

Bryan, an avid notgeld collector, contacted us and delivered many interesting facts about these wonderful pieces. Bryan reports 'here were over 4,500 different issuers of Notgeld in 1700 specific areas (cities, districts, & states). Approximately 13,000 different Notgeld coins were issued in all of their different forms and varieties.'