1 Pfennig Scholven PoW Camp

Scholven was a coal-mining and synthetic fuel installation in the Ruhr, and the prisoner-of-war camp attached to it drew forced laborers — predominantly Soviet and French prisoners — to work the mines and the Hydrierwerk Scholven hydrogenation plant during the Second World War. Internal camp currency of this type was not generosity; it was a control mechanism, restricting prisoner purchasing power to the camp canteen and preventing hard currency from circulating among the workforce or funding escape attempts.

The near-square format and stamp security reflect improvised local production rather than centralized military issue. Scholven camp scrip is poorly documented in standard PoW currency references, and individual denominations from this installation surface infrequently.