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1 Mark Darlehenskassenschein, Red Seal
| Issuer | Reichsschuldenverwaltung (Imperial Debt Administration) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a central guilloche vignette with the large numeral "1" to each side and the denomination "Eine Mark" in Gothic script at centre. The heading "Darlehenskassenschein" appears in ornate lettering at the top, with the issuing authority "Reichsschuldenverwaltung" and the date "Berlin, den 12. August 1914" below. A red seal impression appears at the lower right, two manuscript facsimile signatures are visible below the central text, and a counterfeit warning legend occupies the lower portion of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 1 Darlehenskassenschein. 1 Mark 1 1 Mark 1 Eine Mark. 1 (Translation: 1 loan certificate. 1 Mark 1 1 Mark 1 One mark. 1) |
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| Comments |
The Darlehenskassenschein — literally "loan treasury note" — was a parallel emergency currency created in August 1914 specifically to avoid depleting Reichsbank reserves during the mobilization crisis. These were not Reichsbank notes; they were issued through a separate institutional mechanism, the Darlehenskassen, precisely to sidestep legal constraints on the central bank's note-issuing capacity. The distinction mattered enormously in 1914 and is routinely ignored today.
The red seal variant distinguishes the first 1914 printing run. Later impressions shifted to other seal colors as successive print orders were placed to meet the extraordinary demand driven by wartime hoarding of coin.