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1 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Landrat des Siegkreises (District of Siegkreis) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gutschein über Eine Milliarde Mark Der Siegkreis haftet für die Einlösung Siegburg, 15. Oktober 1923 Der Landrat i.V. Kreisdeputierter IM GANZEN REGIERUNGSBEZIRK KÖLN UMLAUFSFÄHIG GÜLTIG BIS ZUM 1. APRIL 1924 B. KÜHLEN, M.GLADBACH |
| Reverse description | Printed in green, the reverse centres on a detailed engraved vignette of the ruined choir arch of Heisterbach Abbey (labelled 'HEISTERBACH'), rendered with fine line-work against a lightly sketched sky. Symmetrical ornamental side panels carrying the district name 'Siegkreis' in cartouches flank the central vignette, their surfaces filled with intricate lace-like guilloche patterns. The denomination '1 Milliarde' appears in bold lettering both at the top and bottom of the central panel, framing the architectural scene. |
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| Comments |
Siegkreis — the administrative district surrounding the Sieg river southeast of Cologne — was one of hundreds of German local authorities forced to print their 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. By the time a billion-mark note was necessary, the Reichsmark had lost any practical meaning as a unit of account; workers were being paid twice daily so wages could be spent before the afternoon exchange rate rendered them worthless.
B. Kühlen in Mönchengladbach was a commercial printer, not a specialist security printer — the firm took on notgeld contracts across the Rhineland as a straightforward print job.