1 000 000 000 Mark

One of thousands of Notgeld issues printed during the hyperinflation peak of late 1923, when Reichsbank notes couldn't keep pace with daily price increases and local authorities were forced to issue their own emergency currency. The Kreisausschuß — the administrative committee of Neuwied district — commissioned this milliard-mark note from a local printer, Strüder, rather than contracting a specialist banknote firm. That decision was purely logistical: turnaround time mattered far more than security features when the purchasing power of a denomination could collapse within hours of printing.

By November 1923, a billion marks was barely sufficient for routine transactions. The Rentenmark stabilization that same month rendered the entire series worthless almost immediately after issue.