1 000 000 Mark Kreissparkasse

The Kreissparkasse des Landkreises Linden was one of hundreds of municipal and district savings institutions that issued emergency currency — Notgeld — during the hyperinflationary spiral of 1923. By the time million-mark denominations became necessary, the Reichsbank's printing capacity was simply overwhelmed; local authorities were legally permitted, then practically compelled, to fill the gap themselves. A million marks in mid-1923 was not a large sum — within weeks of such notes entering circulation, they were already losing purchasing power faster than they could be spent.

The guilloche underprint was the issuer's principal deterrent against counterfeiting, though at this inflationary velocity, sophisticated forgery was barely worth the effort.