25 Pfennig, Neustadt in Holstein, 1921

Gutschein der Stadt Neustadt in Holstein

common

What was happening

Neustadt in Holstein is a small Baltic port in eastern Schleswig-Holstein, on the Lübecker Bucht. It was founded in the thirteenth century and received its town charter in 1244.

The front of this note carries the town's coat of arms flanked by flags, with the motto Up ewig ungedeelt ("Forever undivided", in Low German) and the date 1460. This refers to the Treaty of Ribe, by which Christian I of Denmark promised that the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein would never be separated — a promise broken repeatedly over the following centuries, and still a rallying cry in 1921 when the Schleswig plebiscites had just redrawn the Danish-German border.

Valid until 31 July 1921. Signed by Rehr (Bürgermeister) and Schleus (Stadtverordnetenvorsteher).

Symbology

"Up ewig ungedeelt" (1460): "Forever undivided" (Low German). The motto from the Treaty of Ribe (1460), by which King Christian I of Denmark promised that the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein would never be separated. Christian I (1426–1481) was elected Duke of Schleswig and Holstein in return for this guarantee. The promise was broken repeatedly — by the 1544 partition, the 1864 war, and the 1920 plebiscite — but the motto remained a rallying cry for Schleswig-Holstein unity.
Coat of arms with handshake: The clasped hands above the quartered shield symbolise the union of the two duchies.
Rehr (Bürgermeister) and Schleus (Stadtverordnetenvorsteher): The two signatories. Rehr served as Bürgermeister (mayor) of Neustadt in Holstein and signed all the town's Notgeld series. Schleus was the Stadtverordnetenvorsteher (chairman of the town assembly).

Rarity

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

25 Pfennig, Neustadt in Holstein, 1921

What was happening

2 copies in the collection