10 000 000 Mark

Neuss was one of hundreds of German municipalities forced into emergency currency production during the hyperinflation peak of 1923, when Reichsbank notes became worthless faster than they could be printed. The Stadt Neuss issued this 10 Million Mark note as Notgeld — locally produced emergency scrip — because the denominations available from central authorities lagged so far behind the collapsing purchasing power that workers couldn't be paid in functional currency without municipal intervention.

By August 1923, a single loaf of bread in Germany could cost millions of marks. Notes like this one had a usable lifespan measured in days.