Hamburg ceramic porcelain notgelds coins tokens

Hamburger Hochbahn was founded on May 27, 1911 as a joint-stock company as a consortium of Siemens & Halske and AEG. From the very beginning, it was a private operator of the newly built railway trestle. The first director was Wilhelm Stein, and the first chairman of the supervisory board was Albert Ballin.
The Meissen Factory received its first order for coins from Hochbahn Aktiengeselschaft, which wanted to replace the previously used cardboard vouchers - tickets. The contract for the supply of coins began in May 1920 after the presentation of designs made from slice stamps. The order was for 300,000 pieces of coins. However, it turned out that the production of red stoneware firing required special attention and the replacement of previously used kilns and work in an additional shift. Out of the planned 100,000 pieces per month before mornization, only 5,000 pieces were produced. pieces. The Reich Ministry commissioned the Reichsbank to evaluate the supplied coins. In general, they were met with harsh criticism:
- too bulky
- too large dimensional discrepancies and inability to count by machine
- shorter shelf life (coin durability)
- allegedly unpleasant sound instead of metallic
Failure to deliver the contracted quantities within the contractual time resulted in the termination of the delivery contract.
Coins produced for Saxony were extremely popular among the population and collectors.
In August 1920, the Manufactory in Meissen also obtained consent from the Reich Treasury to sell coin designs that were not approved by the Ministry of Finance to collectors.
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