First Currency of the Free City of Danzig .

 

 

Collectors who come across notes such as the above are apt to dismiss them as just another example of "notgeld", many - or most - of which were issued in Germany or Austria specifically for sale to collectors. But this note is normally found in "doggy" condition and both it and its fellows in the Danzig series were truly issued as money.

Danzig is an important seaport on the Baltic at the mouth of the Vistula River and has changed hands many times, becoming a part of eastern Prussia in 1793. After the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, Danzig was stripped from Germany and made a free city within the Polish customs union, a status it maintained until Germany again took it in 1939. After the war, Danzig was awarded to Poland and its name changed to Gdansk . This was the city where Poland 's "Solidarity" movement began - and the Soviet Empire started to become unraveled.

Until 1945, Danzig was always a predominantly Germanic city and entered her "free city" phase continuing to use the German pfennigs and marks. But as the latter began to badly deteriorate in value, Danzig was thrown on her own resources, issuing on October 31, 1922 her own "notgeld" notes of 100-, 500- and 1000-marks by authority of "Der Senat, Verwaltung der Stadtgemeinde Danzig" (literally, "The Senat, Municipality of Danzig Administration"). As the months passed, higher and higher denominations were needed, culminating in a 10-million mark of Oct. 11, 1923 .

Within days of this last issue, Danzig cut herself loose from the mark and established her own distinctive currency: 100 pfennige = 1 gulden. On October 22, 1923 , notes in these pfenniges and gulden appeared, issued by the "Danziger Zentralkasse, Aktiengesell- schaft", a sort of municipal joint-stock financial company. There were two issues: 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50-pfennige notes as well as 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100-gulden, all with the October 22 date. On Nov. 1, a second issue of 1, 5 and 50-pfennige and 1-gulden notes appeared. At the same time, Danzig coins were ordered: 1 and 2 pfennige (bronze); 5 and 10 pfennige (copper-nickel) and ½, 1, 2 and 5-gulden (silver), all dated 1923. During the Depression, the copper-nickel denominations would tend to shrink to aluminum-bronze and the silver to nickel or .500 fine instead of .750 as before.

On February 10, 1924 , the first notes of the "Bank von Danzig" would appear and continue on until Hitler's takeover in 1939. After that, Danzig disappeared as a separate political entity.

Wayne Jacobs is a numismatic expert. Currently secretary and editor of the "Mid-Island Coin Club Numismatic Journal"of Nanaimo, Vancouver Island , British Columbia, he is the award winning author of numerous articles. The MICC journal are hosted here: MICC webpages Copyright 2006 Wayne Jacobs. This article may be reprinted freely for non commercial purpose only if the resource box is left intact, linking back to us.