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1 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Laufen (City of Laufen, Bavaria) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Plain cream paper Notgeld issued in letterpress, enclosed within a dotted rectangular border. The heading "Gutschein" appears in bold blackletter script at the top centre, flanked by the serial number at upper left and the denomination "1 000 000 Mark" at upper right; the central legend "Eine Million Mark" is set in a large blackletter typeface. Below the denomination text, a two-line clause states the note's validity period and the municipality's redemption guarantee, followed by the place and date "Laufen (Obb.), 22. August 1923," two manuscript signatures in violet ink over an official circular town stamp, with the printer's imprint "J. E. Ried, Laufen." at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gutschein der Stadt Laufen über Eine Million Mark 1 000 000 Mark Nr. Der Schein gilt bis 4 Wochen nach Aufruf im Laufener Wochenbl. Die Stadtgemeinde haftet mit ihrem ganzen Vermögen für seine Einlösung. Laufen (Obb.), 22. August 1923. Stadtrat: Stadtkassa: J. E. Ried, Laufen. |
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| Comments |
Laufen is a small Bavarian border town on the Salzach River — its municipal administration had no business printing million-mark notes, but in mid-1923 every German city with a press and a rubber stamp was doing exactly that. The Reichsbank had lost control of the money supply entirely, and Notgeld at this denomination was not commemorative: it was emergency purchasing power, spent the same day it was issued before another round of price increases made it worthless by afternoon.
J. E. Ried was a local printer, not a banknote specialist. That matters when handling the paper — the ink adhesion on provincial Inflationsgeld of this type is often unstable, and surface rubbing can lift detail.