Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Rat und Stadtverordnete der Stadt Chemnitz |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 000 000 Mark (1 000 000) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Cream-toned notgeld printed in brown and black on plain paper, with the denomination "EINE MILLION MARK" in large bold letterpress at the top left, flanked by the numeral "1.000.000" in the upper and lower right coupon stub. A central vignette presents the ornate crowned coat of arms of Chemnitz supported by heraldic lion supporters, rendered in fine line engraving against a lozenge-patterned underprint. The payment text in Gothic script runs across the main body, dated Chemnitz, 10. August 1923, with three facsimile signatures of municipal officials below, and a validity notice at the foot reading "Die Gültigkeit dieses Scheines erlischt spätestens am 31. October 1923"; the serial number and series designation "Reihe A 1" appear in the right-hand coupon column. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in red-brown on a dense green guilloche underprint that covers the entire surface, with the denomination numeral "1.000.000" repeated in green at all four corners. A central line-engraved vignette occupies the middle field, showing a perspective view of the Chemnitz Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) with its prominent clock tower, set within a townscape composition. The overprinted legend "Eine Million Mark" in large green italic letterpress crosses the centre of the vignette. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Chemnitz was one of hundreds of German municipalities forced into emergency currency production during the hyperinflation of 1923, when the Reichsmark was collapsing fast enough that million-mark denominations became necessary for daily transactions. The city council — Rat und Stadtverordnete — had legal standing to issue notgeld, and did so prolifically across multiple denominations that summer and autumn.
What distinguishes municipal issues like this one from central bank paper is accountability: the city itself bore redemption liability, which in practice meant very little once the Rentenmark stabilization arrived in November 1923 and most outstanding notgeld was simply written off.