AUSTRIA, encased postage, (1922)

DescriptionIn Austria and Germany, during and after World War I, there were local money shortages dealt with by creative bookkeeping and local emergency money. In addition to local paper and metal money, some private firms put out encased postage stamps. Because they passed at face value, and had an official value object inside, the manufacturing cost was lost, and had to be accounted as advertising cost. That’s why encased postage tokens are relatively scarce.A token is used like a coin but is not a coin. Rather, it stands for a coin without the value of the coin. Maybe its copper, but says its value is the same as a silver coin. Usually tokens were made privately, but sometimes governments got involved.The word “exonumia” is used to describe all kinds of things that are “like” coins but are not coins. I wrote a blog post on that subject. Basic categories: 1. used like a coin but not issued by a national government, 2. looks like a coin but not made for spending, 3. other things that we are interested in.