Overall in the notgeld banknote segments in the market one of the rarer issues were those from the City of Darmstadt some 35Â kilometers south of Frankfurt am Main.
Great examples are quite hard to obtain at a reasonable price.  The note on offer here has been in a private collection for more than 80 years.Â
It features the coat of arms for Hessen on the front and on the reverse the iconic statue erected to honor Ludwig I by the people of Hessen which stands proudly at the center of Luisenplatz in the city center.
Prices in Europe range up to 48 Euros for this note in top grade. The offer here is sure to attract buyers quickly.
Design
German Notgeld City Darmstadt
Catalogue: Grabowski D5.1c
Issued on: 1917-06-30
Composition: Paper
Face value: 50 Pfennig
Serial 6 digits blue, without printers name
History
Right in the heart of the City of Darmstadt stands the imposing 39.15 meters high statue of Ludwig I.  To the locals it is referred to as Langer Lui (Long Louie) Langer Ludwig.
He was the first Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. The plaza in which he stands is called Luisenplatz and this was named after his wife the Grand Duchess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt.
It truly is an huge monument. The design was done by Carl Balthasar Harres and Georg Moller. Work started on the project on 14th June 1841 and it was finished and inaugurated on 25th August 1844.
The main statue at the top of the column is bronze. It stands in itself 5.45 meters high and weighs a staggering 5,400 kilograms. The statue is stood on a stone column that is 30.04 meters high and is accessed by an internal spiral staircase that has 172 steps. On a few days a year the statue is opened to the general public for a small donation to a local organisation such as the Red Cross and from the viewing platform at the feet of the statue one has a fabulous view of the city and its surrounds which takes in the hilltop Hochzeitsturm ( wedding tower) on the Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt’s Art Neuvo artists colony precinct and arts museum.