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1 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Gemeinde Steinen (Municipality of Steinen in Baden) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Notgeld issued on plain cream paper with an ornate letterpress-printed border of interlocking geometric rosette guilloche enclosing the entire face. A repeating lozenge-pattern underprint carries the denomination legend 'Eine Million' in pale ink across the field, with a boxed panel at upper right repeating the same text. The central text, set in Gothic blackletter typeface, states the obligation of the Gemeinde Steinen to pay the bearer, with the date 22. August 1923, a manuscript signature of the Gemeinderat, validity clause, and redemption notice at foot; the serial number and series letter 'Lit. A' appear vertically in the left margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Die Gemeinde Steinen zahlt dem Einlieferer dieses Gutscheines Eine Million Mark Gültig bis zum Aufruf im "Oberbad. Volksblatt" Steinen, den 22. August 1923 Der Gemeinderat: Einlösungsstelle ist die Gemeindekasse Eine Million Lit. A UEHLIN IN SCHOPFHEIM |
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| Comments |
Steinen is a small municipality in the Wiesental valley of Baden, and its decision to issue emergency currency at the million-mark denomination places this note squarely in the hyperinflationary summer of 1923, when even rural communes were compelled to print their own Notgeld to cover payroll and local transactions — the Reichsbank simply could not supply usable denominations fast enough. The printer, Uehlin of Schopfheim, was a regional commercial press rather than a specialist banknote manufacturer, a detail that shows in the workmanship of most surviving examples from this series.
By the time notes of this face value were being issued, the denomination itself had a lifespan measured in weeks before becoming functionally worthless.