Litzmannstadt 1943 20 mark
This specimen was lot 919 in Steve Album Auction 53 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $4,200. The catalog description[1] noted, "POLAND: Lodz: Litzmannstadt Ghetto, 20 mark, 1943, struck in aluminum, a lustrous mint state example! PCGS graded MS63. The Litzmannstadt (Lodz) ghetto was established as an industrial base to manufacture war supplies. The Nazis set up a Jewish council and appointed Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski to keep order. From 1942 to 1943, tokens were struck in the name of the Jewish Elders of Litzmannstadt, the name the Germans chose for the city to honor the German General Karl Litzmann, of WWI fame. These tokens were the only legal currency in the Lodz Ghetto and used to buy what food and medicine they could. Jews traded their personal possessions to acquire these tokens. The 20 mark denomination was the highest issued by the Elders and this is tied with only two other examples for highest graded (Top Pop) at PCGS!" The ghetto was liquidated in 1944 and all its inhabitants sent to the death camps.
Recorded mintage: 600.
Specification: 6.98 g, aluminum, 33.45 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-Tn4.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Hanbing Feng, Auction 53, featuring Selections from the Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld, Almer H. Orr III, Dr. Dirk Loer and Joe Sedillot Collections, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2025.
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