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1 000 000 Mark on 500 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtkasse Berlin (City Treasury of Berlin) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 000 000 Mark (1 000 000) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse of this Notgeld issue is a 500 Mark Stadtkassenschein of Berlin, overprinted in red with the new denomination of 1,000,000 Mark. To the left, a vignette displays the heraldic Berlin bear coat of arms within a shield, over which the red overprint value '1000000' is applied. The right panel carries the denomination in Gothic blackletter script 'Fünfhundert Mark', the date 'Berlin, den 11. Okt. 1922', the issuing authority 'Im Auftrat der Reichshauptstadt', and a manuscript signature, all framed within an elaborate geometric guilloche border with '500' numerals at the corners; a diagonal red overprint stamp reading 'Bankabteilung' crosses the central text area. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Berlin im Jahre 1737 |
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| Comments |
Berlin's city treasury resorted to overprinting existing 500 Mark stock rather than waiting for fresh printing during the hyperinflationary spiral of 1922 — a practical stopgap as the Reichsbank struggled to keep denominations remotely useful. The base note's face value had become economically meaningless before the ink was dry on the overprint.
Municipal notgeld at this denomination level occupies an unusual position: technically emergency money, but issued by a civic authority large enough that its paper carried genuine local credibility. Berlin's Stadtkasse was not a provincial backwater improvising — this was the capital managing a crisis with whatever materials were at hand.