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1 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | City of Bamberg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in dark brown on cream paper, dominated by a central oval vignette containing a detailed line-art view of a grand Baroque public building in Bamberg, identifiable by its ornate portal, staircase, and fountain forecourt. The denomination «Mark 1.000.000» appears in bold type on both the left and right flanks of the vignette, with the issuer inscription split as «Gutschein der» and «Stadt Bamberg» respectively. A patriotic aphorism in two lines runs across the upper register, while redemption conditions and validity notices are set in smaller text at the lower left and lower right corners. |
| Reverse lettering | NIEDERLAGEN * ERLEIDEN * AUCH * HELDEN * VERHARREN IN DER NIEDERLAGE IST SCHWÄCHLINGEN EIGEN. MARK 1.000.000 GUTSCHEIN DER MARK 1.000.000 STADT BAMBERG DIESER GUTSCHEIN WIRD IN BAMBERG BEI ALLEN STADT-U.STAATSKASSEN ANGENOMMEN. GÜLTIGKEIT BIS 30.NOV.1923. MIT DEM 31.MAI 1924 ERLISCHT JEDER ANSPRUCH AUS DIESEM GUTSCHEIN. |
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| Comments |
Bamberg was one of hundreds of German municipalities forced to issue notgeld during the hyperinflation of 1923, when the Reichsbank simply could not print sufficient denominations fast enough to keep pace with collapsing purchasing power. A million marks, a figure that would have seemed absurd two years earlier, was by mid-1923 barely enough to cover a tram fare. Municipal issues like this one were technically illegal under imperial-era banking law but were tolerated out of sheer necessity.
City-issued notgeld of this denomination was typically printed on whatever paper stock was locally available, which accounts for the wide variation in paper quality and weight across surviving examples from the same series.