Danzig gulden
For an earlier currency issued in Danzig, see Danzig Thaler.
Danzig gulden | |||||
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Central bank | Bank of Danzig | ||||
User(s) | Free City of Danzig | ||||
Subunit | |||||
1/100 | Pfennig | ||||
Plural | |||||
Pfennig | Pfennige | ||||
Coins | 1, 2, 5, 10 Pfennig ½, 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 Gulden | ||||
Banknotes | 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 500, 1000 Gulden | ||||
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. |
The Gulden was the currency of Free City of Danzig (German: Freie Stadt Danzig; Polish: Wolne Miasto Gdańsk) between 1923 and 1939. It was divided into 100 Pfennige.
History
Until 1923, Danzig used the German papiermark and issued several local 'emergency notes'. Inflation during 1922–23 averaged roughly 2,440% per month.[1] In July 1923 it was announced that a new and independent currency (the gulden) was being established with the approval of the League of Nations finance committee to replace the German mark.[2] The Gulden was introduced at a value of 25 Gulden = 1 pound sterling.[2][3]
Incorporation into Nazi Germany
Danzig was annexed by Nazi Germany on 1 September 1939, the day the invasion of Poland had begun[4] On the same day Reichsmark coins and notes were declared legal tender alongside the Danziger gulden, with 1 gulden being equal to 0,70 Reichsmark.[5] This was a favourable exchange rate for inhabitants of Danzig, since the actual exchange rate was around 0,47 Reichsmark per gulden . To prevent abuse on 7 September the import of gulden coins and notes into the territory of the former free city was prohibited.[6] Bank assets were however converted at the market rate of 0,47 reichsmark per gulden.[7]
Effective 7 September 1939 coins of 1 and 2 pfennig became legal tender throughout Nazi Germany as 1 and 2 reichspfennig and would remain in circulation until November 1940. On 30 September the reichsmark became the sole currency on the territory of the former free city. Notes and coins of 5 and 10 gulden were withdrawn that day and could be exchanged for reichsmarks until 15 October. Coins of 5 and 10 pfennig and ½ and 1 gulden remained in circulation until 25 June 1940 and were redeemed until 25 July.
Coins
A first series of coins was issued in 1923, followed by a second in 1932. Coins were issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 Pfennige and ½, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 25 Gulden.
The 25 Gulden coins were minted in gold. Produced in very small numbers in 1923 (1000) and 1930 (4000) the latter date's issue was only released as a few presentation pieces. As part of the 1923 are 200 proof coins and, while available to collectors, are very expensive.[8] The 1930 issue was essentially unobtainable until a large number appeared in the 1990s, apparently released from a Russian treasury where they had been stored since their capture at the end of World War II.[9]
First series (1923)[10] | |||||||||||||||
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Image | Value | Technical parameters | Description | Date of | |||||||||||
Diameter | Mass | Composition | Edge | Obverse | Reverse | quantity minted | minting | issue | withdrawal | lapse | |||||
1 pfennig | 17 mm | 1,67g | 4% Sn, 1% Zn |
country name “Danzig” |
Danzig coat of arms |
1923~1937 | 18 December 1923[11] | 1 November 1940[12] | 30 November 1940[12] | ||||||
2 pfennige | 19,5 mm | 2,5g | 1923~1937 | ||||||||||||
5 pfennige | 17,5 mm | 2g | 25% Ni |
country name “Danzig” |
Danzig coat of arms |
1923,1928 | 18 December 1923[11] | 1 October 1932[11] | ? | ||||||
10 pfennige | 21,5 mm | 4g | country name “Freie Stadt Danzig” |
1923 | |||||||||||
1/2 gulden | 19,5 mm | 2,5g | 25% Cu |
country name “Freie Stadt Danzig”, coat of arms |
1923,1927 | 1 April 1932[11] | |||||||||
1 gulden | 23.5 mm | 5g | country name “Freie Stadt Danzig”, cog |
1923 | |||||||||||
2 gulden | 26.5 mm | 10g | |||||||||||||
5 gulden | 35 mm | 25g | country name “Freie Stadt Danzig”, St. Mary's Church |
1923,1927 | |||||||||||
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table. |
Banknotes
The first Danzig gulden banknotes were issued by the Danzig Central Finance Department and dated 22 October 1923 with a second issue dated 1 November 1923.[13] Denominations for both series included 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, and 50 pfennige notes,[13] as well as 1, 2, and 5 gulden.[13] In addition, the first issue contained 10 and 25 gulden notes,[14] and the second issue contained 50 and 100 gulden notes.[15] The Bank of Danzig was capitalized with £300,000 on 5 February 1924 and officially opened on 17 March 1924.[3] The Bank of Danzig issued four series of gulden (1924, 1928–30, 1931–32, and 1937–38) with an initial issue date of 10 February 1924.[15]
Issued by | Issue | Value | Image | Comments |
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Zeughaus (arsenal) | |||
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City Hall | |||
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Artushof | |||
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Stockturm (local tower) part of Golden Gate (Gdańsk) Neptune | |||
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St. Mary’s Church | |||
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Motława River dock scene | |||
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Vorlaubenhaus |
References
Notes
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Money of the Free City of Danzig. |
- ↑ McGuire 2013, p. 48.
- 1 2 "Danzig to Establish New Currency System". The New York Times. 20 July 1923. p. 3 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851–2010). (subscription required (help)).
- 1 2 Mason 1946, p. 74.
- ↑ Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. "ÖNB-ALEX - Deutsches Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I 1867-1945". onb.ac.at.
- ↑ Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. "ÖNB-ALEX - Deutsches Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I 1867-1945". onb.ac.at.
- ↑ Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. "ÖNB-ALEX - Deutsches Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I 1867-1945". onb.ac.at.
- ↑ "Danziger Geld im 20. Jahrhundert". ostsee-urlaub-polen.de.
- ↑ Statue of Neptune basis of design on Danzig gold 25-gulden coins issued between two world wars
- ↑ A huge portion of Hitler's gold was already taken in 1945
- ↑ Schön G. and Schön G.: Welt Münzkatalog, 20. & 21. Jahrhundert, 1900-2010, München 2010, Battenberg Verlag. ISBN 978-3-86646-036-2
- 1 2 3 4 Kamiński Cz.: Ilustrowany katalog monet polskich 1916-1991, Warsaw 1992, KAW. ISBN 83-03-00041-1
- 1 2 Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. "ÖNB-ALEX - Deutsches Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I 1867-1945". onb.ac.at.
- 1 2 3 Cuhaj 2010, pp. 430–31.
- ↑ Cuhaj 2010, p. 430.
- 1 2 Cuhaj 2010, p. 431.
Sources
- Cuhaj, George S., ed. (2010). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money General Issues (1368-1960) (13 ed.). Krause. ISBN 978-1-4402-1293-2.
- Mason, John B. (1946). The Danzig Dilemma – A Study in Peacemaking by Compromise. Stanford University Press.
- McGuire, Shayne (2013). The Silver Bull Market: Investing in the Other Gold. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-61514-0.
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