1921 - German City of Lütjenburg 50 Pfennig

This note is another piece from the Lütjenburg “De Bottermelkskrieg” (The Buttermilk War) Notgeld series — one of Germany’s most whimsical and beloved emergency money issues from circa 1921.

🏛️ General Information

• Issuer: Town of Lütjenburg (Lütjenborg), Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

• Date of Issue: Circa 1921

• Denomination: 50 Pfennig

• Series: De Bottermelkskrieg (“The Buttermilk War”)

• Scene Number: 4 — “Die vermeintlichen Dänen” (“The Supposed Danes”)

• Artist: W. Kaufmann (signature lower right)

• Printer: Ad. Frisch & Co., Oldenburg i.O.

🎨 Design and Storyline

The note belongs to a six-part satirical series that humorously recounts a local legend in which villagers mistook peaceful sailors or traders for invading Danish troops. The “war” never actually happened — it was a comic misunderstanding, later immortalized in folklore and art.

Front design elements:

• Left & Right Panels: The same caricatured Danish soldiers as in other notes — one standing smugly with hands on his belly, the other blowing a horn to sound the alarm.

• Center Panel:

  • A sailing vessel arrives at the dock under bright sun.

  • Onboard are several pigs and sailors, shown innocently disembarking with their livestock.

  • The villagers, thinking they are Danes, sound the alarm — hence the caption “Die vermeintlichen Dänen” (“The supposed Danes”).

• Colors: Olive green, blue, and black — printed via multi-color lithography with excellent contrast typical of North German Notgeld.

• Text at bottom: “to Lütjenborg” (Low German for “from Lütjenburg”).