German Notgeld Collector Of 46 Years, From Uk.

....could be a donkey.....
As they have put the word 'steed' in inverted commas it suggests its not a horse.

Here is a nice 'basic' set of 3 from Saalfeld, along with their presentation envelope. there are actually 2 versions of the 50pf note:

Yes - 'Deutscher Michel' the personification of the German People (he is often depicted wearing his nightcap) is having everything squeezed out of him.....

Here is a great example of how you can be lucky and pick up a scarcer variant that most people wouldn't even know or check for. The pieces are from Trostberg and the white '25 PFENNIG' is scarcer than the normal red colour.

I do use ebay quite a bit but a collector has to be very careful. There are absolutely silly prices for pieces, especially from US sellers, I have noticed......maybe 10x more than they should be.
Sometimes flea markets or collector fairs throw something up.
For the very rare pieces I browse through lots of different auction houses.
You should get a 'normal' set of 6 for 7 dollars US. So think about 1 dollar each and an extra 1 if its a complete set.
My website has hundreds, if not thousands of pieces priced very, very fairly. These are my actual collection and stock duplicates I built up over 50 years. Some sellers state 'genuine' but that isn't really a problem of any concern in this arena......unless you are purchasing rare pieces.
Try not to be dumped with lots of notes you won't be able to trade or sell if you buy a big lot or collection. You need to make sure they are all different.....and probably more importantly, complete sets. It is difficult to find and buy 1 piece from a set of 6 for example. You will probably be able to find the set easier........so don't buy the 'odds'. They are good to build up an initial collector if under 1000 pieces. Please do use my notgeld.com website shop to browse and compare prices. Ensure you are comparing like for like though!

Found this for under $2 delivered. Thanks...

Nice find, LongBeard!

Actually, the shown note is number two of a series of four that depict a tale about the local blacksmith of Bielefeld.

Once, as the legend goes, there was a blacksmith in Bielefeld who was very good at his job. In order to get even better and gain more and more knowledge and secrets about his profession, he made a pact with the devil. Note 1 shows the blacksmith negotiating his pact with the devil.



He became so famous that even Saint Peter would come to him for new horseshoes for his horse, as he happened to be on Earth for business. The blacksmith fixed new horseshoes for Saint Peter's horse. Saint Peter asked what he owed the blacksmith. The blacksmith did not want money, but he did ask Saint Peter to bless his purse, because he somehow kept losing money from it. Saint Peter blessed the blacksmith's purse, and that was the end of the pact with the devil. The devil was upset and came for the blacksmith, who told him he could not open the door for the devil. If the devil wanted to come in, he would have to creep through the lock, which he did. The smart blacksmith however, had a leather pouch held ready right after the lock, and trapped the devil in it. He put the pouch on the anvil and hammered and hammered and hammered until the devil was prepared to let go of the pact. Note 2 (the one LongBeard showed) shows the devils fleeing from the blacksmith.



Later, at the closing of his days, the blacksmith turned to Saint Peter at the Gates of Heaven. Saint Peter knew about the pact with the devil and the way the blacksmith had beaten the *stars* out of the devil, so Saint Peter would not let the blacksmith in. Note 3 shows the happy desire to get admitted at the Gates of Heaven.



However, as Saint Peter is busy admitting a beautiful virgin to Heaven, the blacksmith sneaks in. Saint Peter wants to throw him out, but realises the blacksmith has always been good to the poor and needy people, and decides he can stay. Note 4 shows the blacksmith sitting in Heaven on his apron, in front of Saint Peter, holding the large Keys of Heaven's Gates, trying to send the blacksmith away. Needless to say: He is still sitting there to this day



Marian Reijersen, one of our dutch IBNS members, recently wrote an article on this story in 't Watermerk, the quarterly journal of IBNS Netherlands that I am the editor of.