1 000 000 Mark

Schweinfurt's million-Mark Notgeld was issued at the absolute peak of Weimar hyperinflation, when municipal governments across Germany were forced to print emergency money simply to meet payroll — the Reichsbank could not supply denominations fast enough to keep pace with daily price increases. H. Stürtz in Würzburg was one of the more reliable regional commercial printers pressed into this role, handling emergency issues for multiple Franconian municipalities simultaneously during the summer and autumn of 1923.

The single signature — Merkle as first mayor — reflects the stripped-down authorization process typical of crisis issuance. Within weeks of printing, a million marks would itself be inadequate for basic transactions.