well, the other guy got 1/2 the story correct!
these coins are NOTGELD, which is money, made by the "local" city, for spending in the local community. it was only "good" in and around the city it was made in. the national currency, the deutsche mark, which had been in silver and gold coins, etc, was being horded (kept) by people, and not spent, because they were afraid of the whole economy being ruined by the end of the war. when a farmer would come to town, and sell his veggies, pork, etc, they took the local currency, and then they spent it in the same town. my mother, by the way, ..... is from duren, and i found several different coins for her. her parents spent those coins as well.
most of the NOTGELD paper money is in great condition, and every little town made their own. people probably saved them, as people are doing right now in the US, with the state quarters.
every town in germany and austria would not have made "commemorative" coins and paper money, at the same time...........try to find a german or austrian bill dated 1919...............the whole federal banking system went down. when it came back on line,........it ended up being in hyper inflation..........where a wheel barrel full would get you a loaf of bread.
next question you are going to ask, is how rare are they, and what are they worth? well, there are 1000's of them, all different,........probably 500+ just coins. the artwork on the paper money is priceless.........but pretty much worthless. most of the paper money can be bought for $1-3 each, coins usually sell for $5-10. hope that helps explain for ya!
ted
