Deutsches Notgeld: Serienscheine

“Serienscheine” (series notes) are a subset of “Notgeld” (emergency money). They are also the precursor to the famous German inflationary money of the early 1920s. Collectors of Notgeld are mainly interested in those giant denominations: ten, one hundred, five hundred, and even a thousand million mark currency notes that were circulated in Germany during the worst of the downward economic spiral preceding the National Socialists' rise to power.

Giant inflationary currency notes are interesting, but they tend to be drab as they are a sign of dire circumstance and despair. Serienscheine, on the other hand, are beautiful, whimsical, and they convey a sense of hope and stoic optimism. They represent the best of a bad situation. Beginning as early as 1914, though primarily after WWI, when metal was in scarce supply, communities began to print and distribute paper currency with the value of coins. The variety and beauty of the Serienscheine made them a desirable commodity in and of themselves. People collected them in sets, which in turn spurred the production of many different issues and designs.

The aim of this website is to provide access to the imagery of Serienscheine with as much annotation as possible. The pages are under construction, so please visit often to watch the collection grow.