1 000 000 Mark Altonaisches Unterstützungs-Institut

The Altonaisches Unterstützungs-Institut was a mutual aid society, not a bank — its entry into emergency currency issuance during the hyperinflation of 1923 was a practical necessity rather than any financial ambition. Countless German municipalities, cooperatives, firms, and welfare organizations printed their own notgeld that year simply to keep wages and relief payments moving when Reichsmark notes became worthless faster than the Reichsdruckerei could produce them.

H. W. Köbner & Co. GmbH, a local Altona printer, handled the job — no outside specialist was required at this denomination, since artistic elaboration had long been abandoned in favor of speed. The embossed seal was the institution's primary authentication device, a low-cost solution when sophisticated security printing was neither available nor economical.