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1 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Magistrat der Stadt Bochum |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Plain typographic Notgeld issue printed in black on cream paper, with a wavy-line guilloche border framing the entire face. The denomination "Eine Million Mark" is set in large Gothic (Fraktur) blackletter script at centre, beneath the headline "NOTGELD DER STADT BOCHUM" in bold Roman capitals; below the denomination a text clause states payment by the municipal treasury of Bochum, dated 16. August 1923. At the foot, the issuing authority "Der Magistrat der Stadt Bochum" is named above two manuscript facsimile signatures captioned "Oberbürgermeister" and "Bürgermeister"; the series letter and serial number are printed vertically in the right margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in black on cream paper within a wavy-line and rule border matching the obverse, the reverse carries a lightly printed panoramic vignette of the Bochum skyline as an underprint across the centre field. Over this underprint, the denomination "Eine Million Mark" is repeated in large Fraktur blackletter, flanked on either side by the legend "Notgeld der Stadt Bochum" with the municipal coat of arms of Bochum positioned between those words. A cautionary clause in small Fraktur type runs along the upper inner border, and a note of ministerial authorisation appears at the foot. |
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| Comments |
Bochum's municipal government, like hundreds of German cities and towns in 1923, was forced into issuing its own emergency currency — Notgeld — as the Reichsbank's output failed to keep pace with hyperinflation that was, by mid-year, doubling prices within days. The Magistrat had no printing authority in any conventional sense; civic necessity was the only mandate required.
Municipal million-mark notes from this period typically had lifespans measured in weeks before the denomination became functionally worthless. The Reichsbank's stabilization in November 1923 rendered all such Notgeld invalid, and redemption was either partial or never honored at all.