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1 000 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt- und Landkreis Aachen |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in dark red-brown on a light green guilloche underprint, the obverse carries a central vignette in the upper portion with three allegorical silhouette figures representing industry, commerce, and agriculture, flanked by factory smokestacks and rural scenes against a mountain backdrop with a caduceus at centre. The denomination "Eine Billion Mark" is rendered in large blackletter script on a banner across the middle of the note, with the issuing authority "Stadt- u. Landkreis Aachen" above it. Two circular official seals appear at lower left and lower right, with manuscript signatures of the Oberbürgermeister and the chairman of the Kreisausschuss above a red serial number at the foot of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in violet-purple, the reverse is dominated by a large central oval vignette depicting the Dreilägerbachtalsperre (Dreilägerbach reservoir dam) with its tower structure and dam wall extending into a broad water landscape, flanked by decorative acanthus scroll ornaments at the corners. The denomination "1 Billion" appears in rectangular cartouches at the upper left and upper right within the ornate border. A ribbon cartouche at the foot of the oval vignette bears the inscription "Dreilägerbach-Talsperre", with validity text printed vertically along the right margin. |
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| Comments |
Aachen's municipal administration issued this billion-mark note in the autumn of 1923, during the most acute phase of the Weimar hyperinflation — the period when the Reichsbank's own printing capacity was so overwhelmed that hundreds of regional and municipal authorities were legally permitted to issue emergency currency (Notgeld) denominated in Reichsmark. By October 1923, a single US dollar was worth roughly 4.2 trillion marks, meaning this note, face value one trillion, was already inadequate for basic transactions within days of printing.
The Stadt- und Landkreis Aachen operated under particular pressure given the French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr to the east, which had severed much of western Germany's industrial supply chain and accelerated the currency collapse in the region.