A headless rider guarding a lonely cross stone. Witches flying across the Brocken on Walpurgis Night. A mysterious piper abducting a village's children. In the years surrounding Germany’s defeat in World War I, communities across the country issued their own emergency money, or notgeld, to fill shortages of official currency. What began as a practical solution soon became something more colorful—and considerably stranger. In this spooky-season episode of Worth Its Weight, Caroline explores three German notgeld notes that draw on local legends, folklore, and fear. Along the way, she examines how emergency money became a canvas for community identity, tourism, collector demand, and stories much older than the notes themselves. --- What Was Notgeld? Notgeld—literally “emergency money”—was issued by municipalities, businesses, and other local organizations when official coins and currency became scarce. During and after World War I, shortages of metal coinage encouraged increasingly widespread local issues. By 1920 and 1921, many colorful Serienscheine were produced in sets aimed partly at collectors, featuring local history, scenery, legends, and folklore. The ANA Edward C. Rochette Money Museum explores German emergency currency, its origins, materials, and transformation into a collector market. ANA Money Museum — German Notgeld ANA Money Museum — World War I German Emergency Money --- Featured Objects: Berga, 25 Pfennig, 1921 — The Headless Rider Issued by the town of Berga an der Elster on October 1, 1921, this 25-pfennig note depicts a headless horseman standing watch near a boundary stone. Its inscription tells the story: “The rider without a head keeps watch at the stone cross every dark night. He fell while storming the castle. His name is no longer spoken.” The note belonged to a larger illustrated series drawing on local legends and supernatural stories. Its imagery shows how notgeld could preserve folklore as readily as civic monuments or historical events. Object credit: Berga an der Elster, 25 Pfennig Notgeld, October 1, 1921. View the Berga Headless Horseman note Explore the complete Berga notgeld series and inscriptions Brocken, 25 Pfennig, 1921 — Witches on the Mountain The 25-pfennig issue draws directly from the imagery of Walpurgis Night, pairing witches and supernatural transportation with lines from Goethe’s Faust. The highest peak in Germany’s Harz Mountains, the Brocken was long-associated with witches, supernatural gatherings, and Walpurgis Night (April 30 into May 1). By the nineteenth century, those associations had been immortalized in Goethe’s Faust and increasingly marketed to visitors. Tourism, folklore, literature, and local commerce all converged on the mountain. A series of Brockengutscheine issued in 1921 by Brocken innkeeper Rudolph Schade featured witches, broomsticks, goats, Faust, Mephistopheles, and quotations from Goethe. Object/type credit: Brockenwirt Rudolph Schade, Brocken Gutschein series, 10, 25, 50 and 75 Pfennig, July 1, 1921. Explore the Brocken Walpurgis Night notgeld series Hamelin, 50 Pfennig, 1918 — The Pied Piper Long before the colorful collector series of the early 1920s, Hamelin issued emergency notes during the actual small-change shortages of World War I. Its 1918 50-pfennig notes drew on the city’s most famous legend: the Pied Piper. According to the familiar story, Hamelin hired a mysterious piper to rid the town of rats. After the townspeople refused to pay him as promised, he returned and led away the town’s children. The legend has much older roots than the rat-catching version now familiar to most listeners, and its historical basis remains uncertain. What matters numismatically is that Hamelin turned its most recognizable story into an emblem of local identity—one that could circulate from hand to hand. Object credit: City of Hamelin, 50 Pfennig Notgeld, July 1, 1918. View the Hamelin 50 Pfennig issue --- Subscribe Today! If you enjoyed this episode, follow Worth Its Weight wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review—it helps more listeners discover the stories money carries. And if there’s a coin, note, or piece of monetary history you think deserves an episode, send us your two cents. You never know what might make its way onto Worth Its Weight. --- Learn More About the American Numismatic Association Money Museum Money Museum Virtual Exhibits Explore the ANA Membership Worth Its Weight is an ANA production from the Money Museum, where history adds up—with interest! To learn more, explore show notes, and discover more stories carried by money, visit money.org. Follow the money. Literally.
