1914 Imperial Germany 20 Mark Note P: 46B Grades vf+. Notgeld is German for "emergency/necessity money". Notgeld typically refers to German and Austrian notes produced in the post-WWI period. Somewhat similar to Depression Scrip in the USA, these notes were issued when there wasn'te nough state-produced money available from the central bank. Issuing institutions were often a town's savings banks, municipalities, or private or state-owned firms. Nearly all issues contained an expiry date, after which time they were invalid. Issues without dates ordinarily had an expiry announced in a newspaper or at the place of issuance.