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1 000 000 Mark Steinkohlenbergwerke Becker
| Issuer | Steinkohlenbergwerke Becker A.-G., Bochum |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Orange and black letterpress Gutschein with an orange decorative geometric underprint. At left, a full-length vignette of a coal miner in uniform bearing a pickaxe. The denomination 'Eine Million Mark' is printed in large bold gothic type at centre, with the issuer name at top and date 'Bochum, den 9. August 1923' below the redemption text. A circular company stamp and two manuscript signatures appear at lower centre. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in purple on plain paper stock, the reverse carries an all-text layout within a bold spiral-motif decorative border. The denomination and issuer details are set in two distinct text blocks, with an authorization clause referencing the Reichsminister der Finanzen and a validity statement regarding the published redemption deadline. |
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| Comments |
Steinkohlenbergwerke Becker was one of the larger independent collieries in the Ruhr coalfield, and like dozens of other industrial firms in 1923, it issued its own emergency currency — Notgeld — to pay workers when the Reichsbank could not supply sufficient physical notes fast enough to keep pace with hyperinflation. At the peak of the crisis, firms were printing payroll notes in denominations that would have seemed absurd eighteen months earlier. A million marks was, by mid-1923, roughly the cost of a loaf of bread.
Coal company scrip from this period was printed locally and redeemable only through the issuing firm, which meant workers had a narrow window to spend before the next depreciation cycle erased whatever value remained.