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10 000 000 Mark Handelskammer
| Issuer | Handelskammer M. Gladbach (Chamber of Commerce Mönchengladbach) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark brown and tan on cream paper, with a central ornate cartouche carrying the denomination in Gothic blackletter script reading 'Zehn Millionen Mark', surmounted by a banner inscribed 'Gutschein über'. Flanking the central vignette are two allegorical standing figures — at left, a winged Mercury holding a caduceus, symbolising commerce, and at right, a textile worker or craftsman — set against elaborate guilloche side panels with the vertical legend 'Handelskammer' and 'M. Gladbach' in the margins. Below the denomination cartouche appears the issuing authority text, the date 'M. Gladbach, 31. August 1923', the printed heading 'Die Handelskammer', two manuscript signatures, the numeral '10.000.000', a serial letter and number, and at lower left a circular embossed seal of the Handelskammer M. Gladbach bearing an eagle. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
Mönchengladbach's Chamber of Commerce issued this note during the summer of 1923, when Germany's hyperinflation was accelerating so rapidly that municipal and commercial bodies across the Rhineland were forced to produce their own emergency currency — Notgeld — simply to make payroll and keep local trade moving. By the time denominations reached eight figures, the Reichsmark had effectively ceased to function as a unit of account.
Schött A.G. in nearby Rheydt printed the note, which is unusually close to home for a chamber issue — many comparable Notgeld series from this region were farmed out to larger printing houses in Berlin or Leipzig. The watermarked paper gives it a solidity that belies its desperate origins.