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1 000 000 Mark Badische Anilin- and Soda-Fabrik/BASF, overprint on 500 Mark
| Issuer | Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik (BASF), Ludwigshafen am Rhein |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Die Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik LUDWIGSHAFEN A/RHEIN zahlt gegen diesen Gutschein dem Vorzeiger Fünfhundert 500 Mark Ludwigshafen am Rh., den 15. Oktober 1922. Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik Eine Million Mark Dieser Schein ist ursprünglich ist Er ist gültig statt ursprünglich |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in red-orange on a dense guilloche underprint incorporating repeated 'BASF' monogram watermarks and the numeral '1' in the side panels. The left portion carries a block of Gothic text in black listing the redemption banks in Mannheim and Ludwigshafen a. Rh., concluding with the expiry notice dated 1 März 1923. To the right, a tall vertical panel displays the denomination '500 MARK' above and below a large numeral '500' in bold red, with an ornamental circular vignette below bearing the company seal. |
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| Comments |
During the hyperinflation crisis of 1922–23, large German industrial firms were legally permitted to issue their own emergency currency — Notgeld — to meet payroll when Reichsbank notes were arriving too slowly and in insufficient quantities. BASF, then one of the largest chemical manufacturers in the world, printed its own denominations at its Ludwigshafen works rather than wait. This particular piece is an overprint solution: a 500 Mark note restruck to 1,000,000 Mark as inflation rendered the original face value worthless almost before the ink dried.
The overprint method was purely practical — cutting new plates took time the company didn't have.