10 Pfennig, Eschershausen in Braunschweig, 1921

Gutschein der Stadt Eschershausen i. Br.

common

What was happening

The 10 Pfennig denomination from Eschershausen. The front shows Wilhelm Raabe's birthplace (a half-timbered house, labelled Wilhelm Raabe's Geburtshaus) alongside a panoramic view of Eschershausen in Braunschweig.

The back depicts a scene from Raabe's works — a man confronting a dragon and serpent — with a quote from Deutscher Adel: "Frei durchgehen… Ist das nicht das größte Wort, das in… und Banden liegenden Menschen… werden kann?"

Issued 1 June 1921, valid until 1 July. Signed by Elsner, with artist monogram F.J.

Symbology

"Wilhelm Raabe's Geburtshaus": "Wilhelm Raabe's birthplace." Raabe (1831–1910) was one of Germany's major realist novelists, born in this half-timbered house in Eschershausen. His works include *Der Hungerpastor*, *Abu Telfan*, and *Stopfkuchen*. The house is now a museum and the town's chief heritage landmark.
Town panorama: Eschershausen seen from the surrounding hills of the Weserbergland.
Dragon and serpent scene: An illustration from Raabe's fiction, with a figure confronting mythical creatures. The quote beneath reads: *"Frei durchgehen! Ist das nicht das größte Wort, das in diesem in Stricken und Banden liegenden Menschenleben gesprochen werden kann?"* — "To walk through freely! Is that not the greatest word that can be spoken in this human life bound in ropes and chains?" From Wilhelm Raabe, *Deutscher Adel* (1880).

Rarity

German municipal Notgeld survives in very large quantities. Catalogued by town in Grabowski and Mehl.

10 Pfennig, Eschershausen in Braunschweig, 1921

What was happening

2 copies in the collection