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1 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Magistrat der Stadt Breslau |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | The left portion of the note carries a fine guilloche underprint in green and brown tones, with the denomination 'EINE Milliarde Mark' rendered in bold Gothic blackletter script at centre. Above the denomination, a two-line payment obligation text is set in smaller Gothic type, with the issuing authority 'Der Magistrat' and the date 'Breslau, im Oktober 1923' below. A circular official seal of the Magistrat zu Breslau appears at centre-lower, flanked by two manuscript signatures, with a validity clause in Gothic script at foot and the printer's imprint at lower left. The right panel contains the city's heraldic vignette — a crowned female figure with two flags above an ornate coat of arms with supporters — printed in green, with the denomination '1 MILLIARDE' below in brown, and the serial number in red at upper right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Die Stadthauptkasse in Breslau zahlt gegen diesen Gutschein dem Einlieferer Eine Milliarde Mark Breslau, im Oktober 1923 Der Magistrat Die Gültigkeit erlischt mit dem bekanntzugebenden Zeitpunkte |
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| Comments |
Breslau's municipal administration — like dozens of German cities — was forced into issuing its own emergency currency during the hyperinflation of 1923, when the Reichsbank simply could not produce denominations fast enough to keep pace with collapsing purchasing power. This one-billion-mark note is a product of that chaos: a local printer filling a gap that the central government could no longer close.
Grass, Barth & Comp. (operating under the W. Friedrich imprint) was a Breslau commercial printer, not a security press. The signatures of A. Wagner and Matthes appear as municipal authorization — neither was a banker in any traditional sense.