Return to the Austrian Notgeld, Then and Now Main Page

Hart, Oberösterreich

There are many villages in Upper Austria named Hart, and there were probably two of them that issued Notgeld.  In the catalogues, they are distinguished by their village selectman, in one case, Franz Erssl, and in the other, Seb. Daxeder.  Of course, there is no sustantive information that this was because of two villages.  In fact, its possible that one selectman died and was replaced.  If this is the case, then the printer chose completely different Notgeld patterns based on the predecessor. Hart is a small village and it produced special series Notgeld in 1921.  The notes featured on this page are the Erssl notes, and it is assumed that this particular Hart is a village of Hargelsburg, by virtue that the notes bear resemblance to those of the neighbouring village of Angersberg, both of which are tied to the town of Hargelsberg. This is a guess, and not a very secure one.  Just because designs are shared by villages does not guarantee their proximity.  Some “families” of special Notgeld series were produced by one printing firm for villages and towns spread across Austria.

One might as well accept this Hart being the close neighbour of Angersberg, however.    Neither of the villages of Hart state the community to which they belong.  At any rate, one may accept Hart near Hargelsberg as the issuing place.  The map below accurately displays the number of houses in the village: there are about 15 structures in Hart, and likely some of them house animals rather than people. [Hart is better than Angersberg, with 8 buildings.]  One understands immediately that these issues are for collectors and not for local use.  It would be hard for one to require small change in a village that has no shops or businesses of any kind.

Erssl’s Hart produced a stunning large variety of otherwise plain notes.  There are three series.  The first consists of denominations of 25, 40, 60, and 90 Heller in rectangular format printed in blue, green, or red on grey paper.  Designs that do little justice  to the features of the countryside.

Can anyone even identify which church is located at the bottom?  Its the same as the Angersberg issue.  Perhaps its the Hargelsberg church?  The second series is an extremely complicated “family series” whose denominations are similar to the first series and whose format is shared by Eben, Firsching, Hacklbrunn, Königsau, Oberwolfern, Pirchhorn, Schanz, Schenkenfelden, Schwödiau, Steinwald, Tafelberg, Unterwald, Unterwolfern, Weinviertel, and Wolfern.  All of these places are in Upper Austria, though not precisely in the same district as Hart.  The second series is differentiated by the following sets:  2/1 printed in green; 2/2 in red; 2/3 in blue; 120 Stück in green or red; 60 Stück in blue; 20 Stück  in blue, green, red, gold, green bronze, copper, pink bronze, red gold, or silver; 12 Stück in blue or black, 10 Stück in gold, green bronze, copper, pink bronze, red gold, or silver; and 6 Stück in yellow, grey, dark grey, dark green, red brown, or grey green.  The third series is much simpler, being in denominations of 30, 50, 75, and 90 Heller printed on vertical pink paper in green, red, or black.  The note featured above is from the third series.

Franz Erssl's Hart:  We know where his Hart lies, but where is Saxeder's?  There are several other Harts in Upper Austria.

Note from the First Series.

GWS, 3/03 [rev. 3/05]