While organizing my German coins I came across 2 that I can't find in the KM book. They are pretty dark and hard to see any detail in a photo.The first has a bust of this angry looking dude with great hair and the words " BEETHOVEN BONN 1770" and the date 1920. The Reverse has 25 Circled in the center, "PFENNIG" on the bottom, and"STADTBONN" on the top. The 2nd coin has an attacking lion in the center on steps inside a circle. With 5 stars on the bottom and the words "STADT BARMEN" at the top. The reverse has 10 in the center over "PFENNIG" the date 1971 above the 10 and the word "KRIEGSGELD" on the top. I can't seem to locate them in the book. Any help will be appreciated. JonySky
Both are Notgeld issues, from the years between WW1 and the "hyperinflation" of 1922/23. Such pieces were not issued by a central bank or national government but by a city, county, etc. Which is also why you won‘t find them in the KM but only in specialized Notgeld catalogs. The first piece was issued by the city of Bonn, NW ("Stadt Bonn"), face value 25 Pfennig. The angry looking dude is, you guessed it, the composer Ludwig van Beethoven who was born in that city in 1770 (ie. 150 years before the piece was issued). The second one is from Barmen which back then was a city by itself and later became part of the city of Wuppertal, NW. Face value 10 Pfennig, and "Kriegsgeld" means "war money" which is why I guess the year is 1917, not '71 The lion can still be found in the CoA of Wuppertal and other cities in that region. Christian
Here's a couple sites of interest: Joel's Coins, a notgeld pricelist that may give you an idea of value: Joel's Coins A few Notgeld coins pictures
