25 Pfennig, Stadt Freiburg in Schlesien, 1921 (before the fire)

Notgeld der Stadt Freiburg i. Schles.

Reverse of 25 Pfennig, Stadt Freiburg in Schlesien, 1921 (before the fire) — Reverse 600 dpi

This copy

Accession: OM-00832
Series year: 1921
Actually issued: 1921
Signatures: This issue carries no bank manager or cashier signature.
Grade: UNC (IBNS)
Estimated from the archival scan. Folds, soiling and edge condition are visible at this resolution; paper crispness, pinholes, small repairs and pressing are not.
Estimated value: $10 indicative
Category benchmark scaled for grade — an order of magnitude, not an appraisal. Priced 2026-10-24.
Dimensions: 99.8 × 66.4 mm (±0.5, from the scan)
Themes: Notgeld Serienschein Weimar Republic Silesia Townscape History

The type

Type: 25 Pfennig, Stadt Freiburg in Schlesien, 1921 (before the fire)
Printer: Grube & Schneider, Freiburg i. Schl.
Rarity: common

Symbology

Anno 1700 - Freiburg Silesia vor dem Brande: A view of the old town as it looked "before the fire", the note dates the scene to 1700 and recalls the great fires that repeatedly swept the timber-built Silesian town.

What was happening

By 1921 Notgeld had turned from wartime necessity into a collectors' market. Coin had vanished into hoards in 1914 and towns printed their own small change to replace it, but with the shortage easing an issuer could still take real marks for paper it hoped would never be redeemed. Towns, firms and clubs commissioned lithographed Serienscheine - sets printed far beyond local need and illustrated with whatever a place was proud of.

Freiburg in Schlesien - today Świebodzice in south-western Poland - is a small Lower Silesian town below the wooded heights of Schloss Fürstenstein (Książ), the great seat of the Hochberg family. Like many timber-built Silesian towns it burned repeatedly; town histories record serious fires in the 17th and 18th centuries. The town issued a September 1921 set of 25- and 50-Pfennig notes printed by Grube & Schneider of Freiburg. Its sister notes include [[notgeld-freiburg-schlesien-25-pfennig-handwerk]], [[notgeld-freiburg-schlesien-25-pfennig-stadtansicht]] and [[notgeld-freiburg-schlesien-25-pfennig-weber]].

This 25-Pfennig note shows an old view of the town captioned Anno 1700 - Freiburg Silesia vor dem Brande ("before the fire"), recalling the appearance of Freiburg before one of the great town fires. The 1700 date is as given on the note; the exact fire it commemorates is not independently confirmed here.

This account belongs to the type, not this copy — it is shared by every 25 Pfennig, Stadt Freiburg in Schlesien, 1921 (before the fire) in the collection.

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