1920 - Austria Municipality of Fahrafeld 10 Heller

1920 - Austria Municipality of Fahrafeld 10 Heller
CA$8.00

🏛️ Overview

  • Issuer: Gemeinde Fahrafeld (Municipality of Fahrafeld), District of St. Pölten, Lower Austria

  • Denomination: 10 Heller

  • Type: Austrian Notgeld (local emergency issue)

  • Date of Issue: 1 July 1920

  • Artist/Designer: Signed “Hitsch” at lower left (likely local artist or printer)

  • Printer: Local Austrian press in Lower Austria

🎨 Design Analysis

Front (as shown)

The note’s composition is a symmetrical, decorative lithograph in pink, green, and black tones.

  • Central Text:
    “ Gutschein Fahrafeld Bez. St. Pölten 1. Juli 1920 ”
    — literally “Voucher of Fahrafeld, District of St. Pölten, 1 July 1920.”

  • Numeral Denominations: “10” in green circles at each upper corner.

  • Side Panels:

    • Left: a farmer with a scythe, fields, and a village church in the background (symbolizing agriculture).

    • Right: a blacksmith raising a hammer beside an anvil and factory chimneys (symbolizing industry and labor).

  • Border Inscription (bottom): “KRAFT UND ARBEIT” — “Strength and Work.”
    This slogan embodies postwar Austria’s reconstruction ethic after the collapse of the Habsburg Empire (1918).

  • Art Style: Distinct Austrian Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) with organic patterns and symmetrical floral motifs.

🕰️ Historical Context

Following World War I and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria experienced a severe coin shortage and economic instability.
Between 1919 and 1922, hundreds of Austrian towns and villages issued Notgeld (local emergency money) to facilitate daily trade.

The Fahrafeld 10 Heller note was part of this movement. Although nominally money, it was often kept as a collectible souvenir because of its beautiful design. Austria’s Notgeld reflected national pride and community values — in this case, honoring the worker and the farmer as pillars of the new republic.