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| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Heidelberg (City of Heidelberg) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DIE/EINLÖSUNG/ERFOLGT AUSSER/BEI/DEN HIESIGEN/BANKEN STÄDT.KASSEN/BEI/SÄMTLICHEN EINE MILLION MARK 1000000 Eine Million Mark zahlt die Stadtgemeinde Heidelberg dem Einlieferer dieses Scheines HEIDELBERG, DEN 8. AUGUST 1923 NUR MIT TROCKENSTEMPEL GÜLTIG DER OBERBÜRGERMEISTER: Serie B NACH ERFOLGTEM AUFRUF IN DEN HEIDELBERGER TAGESZEITUNGEN VERLIERT DIESER SCHEIN SEINE GÜLTIGKEIT |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Embossed dry seal applied to each note as a validity control; notes lacking the stamp were declared invalid per the printed legend "NUR MIT TROCKENSTEMPEL GÜLTIG". |
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| Comments |
Heidelberg's municipal administration, like hundreds of German cities, was forced into emergency currency production as hyperinflation rendered Reichsbank notes obsolete faster than they could be printed. This million-mark piece is Notgeld in its most desperate phase — not the decorative regional issues of 1920–21 that collectors sought, but functional emergency money printed and authenticated locally out of sheer necessity.
The dry embossed stamp served as the primary anti-counterfeiting measure, a telling sign of how little infrastructure existed for proper security printing at this stage. By late 1923, a million marks would barely cover a tram fare.