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1 000 000 Marks
| Issuer | Stadt Saalfeld (Saale) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Notgeld voucher printed in dark blue and red on a cream-toned paper with a light floral guilloche underprint across the main field. The central text area is framed by an ornate floral and scroll border, within which the denomination 'Eine Million Mark' is set in large red Gothic (Fraktur) lettering. A detachable right-hand coupon panel carries a dense blue guilloche background bearing the municipal coat of arms of Saalfeld as a central vignette, with the numeral '1000000' in red at the base and the serial number in red at the top; two manuscript signatures of municipal officials appear at the lower left of the main field, with the date 'den 13. August 1923' and the printer's imprint at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Notgeld der Stadt Saalfeld (Saale) Gutschein. Die Stadthauptkasse zahlt dem Einlieferer dieses Gutscheins Eine Million Mark Dieser Gutschein verliert seine Gültigkeit nach Aufruf in den Saalfelder Tageszeitungen. Saalfeld (Saale), den 13. August 1923. Der Stadtgemeindevorsteher: Der Gemeinderat: Nr. [serial number] Wiedemannsche Druckerei A.-G., Saalfeld a.S. |
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| Comments |
Saalfeld-on-the-Saale, a small Thuringian industrial town, was one of hundreds of German municipalities that resorted to emergency currency — Notgeld — as hyperinflation made Reichsbank notes practically worthless before they could even reach circulation. The million-mark denomination, which would have represented serious wealth in 1914, had become a routine transaction value by mid-1923; notes like this one were being spent within hours of issue to outpace daily price movement.
The Wiedemannsche Druckerei was a local commercial press, not a specialist banknote printer. That matters — municipal Notgeld at this denomination level was produced under severe time pressure with whatever printing capacity existed nearby, which is why paper quality and registration consistency vary so sharply across surviving examples from this issuer.