Complete Set of 6 East Germany DDR Prison Wertgutschein Vouchers - Uncirculated (UNC) - RARE 1980s German Prison Mark and Pfennig Notes

This listing is for the photographed 1980s Undated Complete Denomination Set of 6 German Democratic Republic (DDR) Wertgutschein Prison Vouchers. These notes were issued and used in prisons in East Germany by the prisoners as spending money at the prison shops. The set includes each denomination that was issued in the prison voucher set; 1 pfennig, 5 pfennigs, 50 pfennigs, 1 mark, 5 marks, and 20 marks. Uncirculated (UNC) grade/condition, crisp notes! This set is an interesting, rarer set of German currency in excellent condition, making for a perfect addition to any collection!

These notes were part of the last series of these prison vouchers to be used in East German prisons before the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990. Notes like these were issued to prisoners within DDR prisons as a means of payment for the work done while incarcerated. They could be used as spending money at prison shops to purchase goods like coffee, tobacco, and additional food. Prison labor drove a large part of the economy of East Germany, with prisoners working over 48 hour weeks producing products for nearby companies that would be sold primarily on the foreign market. Prisoners earned about 10% of the average living wage earned by a free person in East Germany at the time. Most of their earnings would be taken by the prison for their "cost of imprisonment", leaving the rest to be either saved in an account by the prisoner to help support their family outside the prison or build up reserves for life outside of the prison, with a small remainder being given to them in these vouchers to be used as spending money within the prison. This series of wertgutschein prison vouchers were used throughout the 1980s in East German prisons until 1990 when East and West Germany reunified and the currency transitioned to the Deutsche-Mark, meaning that a new series needed to be reprinted to reflect the new currency system, replacing this series.

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Complete Set of 6 East Germany DDR Prison Wertgutschein Vouchers - Uncirculated (UNC) - RARE 1980s German Prison Mark and Pfennig Notes