1 000 000 Mark Deutsche Reichsbahn

Deutsche Reichsbahn issued its own emergency currency during the 1923 hyperinflation because the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to meet payroll. The railway was one of Germany's largest employers, and paralysis of the rail network — through strikes, walkouts, or unpaid workers — was a political risk the government could not absorb. Notgeld from quasi-governmental entities like the Reichsbahn filled the gap that the central bank left open.

The two catalog variants (002-1a and 002-1b) differ in paper stock or watermark detail — small distinctions that reflect the frantic sourcing conditions of that summer, when printers took whatever materials were available.