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1 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Ahlen (Magistrat der Stadt Ahlen), Westphalia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Yellow-toned note with a diamond-pattern border in black and yellow enclosing the entire design. The issuer's name "Stadt Ahlen i. Westf." appears at the top in Gothic script above the large denomination legend "Eine Million M." in bold black Fraktur lettering. Below a horizontal rule, a three-line redemption text in smaller Gothic script states the bearer clause and validity expiry date of 31 October 1923, followed by the authority line "Der Magistrat der Stadt Ahlen" and two manuscript signatures at lower centre; a red vertically-printed serial number appears at the right margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Stadt Ahlen i. Westf. Eine Million M. zahlt die Stadtkasse Ahlen i. Westf. dem Einlieferer dieses Scheines. Die Gültigkeit erlischt mit Ablauf des 31. Oktober 1923. Der Magistrat der Stadt Ahlen |
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| Comments |
Ahlen's million-mark note is a product of the hyperinflationary peak of summer–autumn 1923, when German municipal and regional authorities were legally permitted to issue emergency currency — Notgeld — to compensate for the central bank's inability to supply adequate denominations fast enough for daily wages. The Stadt Ahlen, a mid-sized Westphalian industrial town, contracted the job to a local printer, E. Schultz, rather than one of the established specialist firms in Berlin or Leipzig. That decision was purely logistical: turnaround time mattered more than engraving quality.
Local production at this denomination tier typically means simpler lithographic work and thinner paper stock — both factors that accelerated physical deterioration in circulation, which at this point was measured in days rather than weeks.