How many of you are aware that many German cities are now issuing their own local currency? Here's a link to a news item in relation to the issues from Magdeburg; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6333063.stm . The Magdeburg currency is called the Urstromtaler,which is pegged to the Euro at a 1:1 ratio.The name 'Urstromtaler' is interesting,as the 'Taler' is derived from 'Thaler',& is where 'Tallero' & 'Tolar' are directly derived from. Aidan.
Aidan.. I work for a German company and I just sent that page as a link to my CEO asking him if he knows anything about this. I am due to go over to Germany in March and who knows...might rubn into some?? RickieB
RickieB,these can be regarded as the modern day equivilant of Notgeld.I wonder if there will ever be a catalogue written (in both German & English) listing these notes - like a German version of Pick. What do you think? Aidan.
The term is a little playful - "Urstromtal" means glacial valley, and the Elbe valley around Magdeburg is one. The "t(h)aler" is derived from the place name Joachimsthal (Joachim Valley), and similarly Urstromtaler is derived from Urstromtal ... There are about two dozen different "local currencies" in Germany; the one in Magdeburg has been around since 2004. In our city (Düsseldorf), for example, there is the "Rheingold". And the Rheingold notes look kind of neat, except I have never seen any in use. Christian
Hi Aidan.. I am not sure what to think at the moment. For me it will require a little reading and investigation. When I make an interpretation I will get back with you. RickieB
German local currency banknotes. Christian,thank you for that translation.Do you reckon that there will ever be a priced catalogue listing these notes? I think there was once a priced catalogue that was published many years ago listing the Notgeld banknotes. If you do get any Rheingold (Rhine Gold) notes,can you please post some photos of them? Who knows,a local coin dealer may sell you some expired issues for a few Euros. Aidan.
Good question - if people collect them, there may one day be a catalog for these issues. They do not have much to do with Notgeld but are "inspired" by the idea of supporting the local economy. Part of the concept of such regional or local or currency notes is that they lose some of their value if you don't spend them soon. Basically Silvio Gesell's model ... These are "Rheingold" notes/vouchers that some initiative in Düsseldorf issued. Johanna (Mutter) Ey http://www.rheingoldregio.de/pic/scheine/schein1-gross.jpg Otto Pankok http://www.rheingoldregio.de/pic/scheine/schein5-gross.jpg Gustaf Gründgens http://www.rheingoldregio.de/pic/scheine/schein10-gross.jpg Heinrich Heine http://www.rheingoldregio.de/pic/scheine/schein20-gross.jpg Clara Schumann http://www.rheingoldregio.de/pic/scheine/schein50-gross.jpg But as I wrote, I have never seen or used one of those. This http://www.regionetzwerk.de/ is the website of a German "complementary currencies" network. And here http://www.le.ac.uk/ulmc/ijccr/links.htm are some more links to similar initiatives in other countries. Christian
Local scrip issues are appearing all over the world. See the following Wikipedia article for examples. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_currencies
Christian,the word 'Gutschein' (possibly means 'Good For' when translated to English) also appears on quite a lot of Notgeld notes. Those are nice Rheingold notes.I'm sure that if you were offered them,you'd accept them as a form of payment,even from your eBay customers in the Dusseldorf region.Then you would let them expire,& then make up sets to sell on eBay. Aidan
Hehe, I don't really "do" eBay, but in such a case, yes, I would probably accept a Rheingold note ... for that purpose. The word Gutschein means voucher - but then again, a voucher is indeed "good for" something. Christian
