Token 30 – DSWA – German South West Africa – Hafen Hotel Swakopmund – 50 Pfennig Werth-Marke

Token 30 – DSWA – German South West Africa – Hafen Hotel Swakopmund – 50 Pfennig Werth-Marke

Original Werth-Marke 50 from the historic Hafen Hotel in Swakopmund, German South West Africa.

This attractive brass token bears “WERTH-MARKE 50”, with “Hafen Hotel Swakopmund” impressed into the design, while the reverse carries the denomination “50”. The specialist Opalka catalogue records the piece as a round brass token of approximately 25 mm.

The Hafen Hotel was located in Swakopmund, the important coastal port and one of the principal centres of German South West Africa. Its Werth-Marken provide a fascinating glimpse into the everyday commercial and hospitality life of the German colonial period.

The 50 Pfennig denomination forms part of a particularly interesting Hafen Hotel Swakopmund series, which includes 10, 25, 50, 75, 150 and 300 Pfennig. This makes the 50 Pfennig a desirable denomination for collectors interested in building a representative or complete Hafen Hotel series.

For collectors, it is also worth noting the connection with Token 28 – Hotel Kronprinz Windhuk 50 Pfennig. Both are original 50 Pfennig Werth-Marken from prominent hotels of German South West Africa, but from two different major centres: Swakopmund and Windhuk. Together, they make an especially interesting pairing for a collection documenting the hotel and commercial token currency of German South West Africa.

Catalogue: Gerd Opalka, Wertmarken-Katalog 5, Swakopmund 1.3.1.

A highly appealing original piece of German South West African exonumia, combining a named historic hotel, an important colonial town, a clearly defined denomination and a documented multi-denomination series — an excellent collector's piece for anyone specialising in DSWA tokens, Swakopmund history or German colonial exonumia.