I have always been fascinated by the Notgeld banknotes of Germany and Austria, and I do have some of both countries in my small banknote collection, but, were they the only two countries to issue this type of banknote?
During the Spanish Civil War many cities in Spain on both sides also issued notgeld coins and notes as well; and over in China during the Republic era (1912-49) there were many local and provincial banks issuing paper money in lieu of a shortage of official banknotes (most of which circulated in big cities like Shanghai or Nanking).
I'm sure there are more but those are the ones I'm more familiar with.
"Notgeld" is German for "Emergency Money", which was struck (as coins) and printed (as banknotes) during hard times (often due to wars) to meet the shortage of money. I believe most of the European countries has issued emergency money some times during the last 100 years, and probably US as well.
"Notgeld" literally means "not money" this way during "emergencies" when specie (coins) disappeared from circulation, local municipalities or private companies could issue a substitute without running afoul of the law.
While small paper notes were issued in Germany/Austria after WW I due to hyperinflation, this practice has been common in many countries. For example, US Civil War tokens are a type of notgeld. During the civil war, people hoarded gold, silver, and even small denomination copper coins. Thus, private companies issued civil war tokens and store cards to fill the need for small change.
In addition to Germany and Austria, France, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Russia, and Yugoslavia also produced notgeld after WW I.
Liechtenstein also had a set of Notgeld notes in 1920 - for 10,20,& 50 Heller - as Liechtenstein was using Austrian Kronen until 1921, when Liechtenstein replaced the unstable Austrian Krone with the very strong & stable Swiss Franc.
