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100 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Frankenthal (Palatinate) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Typeset letterpress note on plain cream paper with a full-field tan underprint repeating the denomination in large letters. The issuer designation 'Stadt Frankenthal' appears at upper left and the value '100 Milliarden Mark' at upper right, with the promise-to-pay clause set in smaller type below; a circular embossed municipal seal of the Stadtgemeinde Frankenthal bearing a rampant lion is applied at centre, flanked by two manuscript signature lines for 'Der Stadtrat' and 'Die Stadthauptkasse', with the series letter 'Lit. B' and serial number at right. A ruled vertical panel at the left margin states the note's validity area and the expiry date of 1 April 1924. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Stadt Frankenthal. 100 Milliarden Mark. Die Stadthauptkasse Frankenthal zahlt dem Einlieferer dieses Scheins Einhundert Milliarden Mark Frankenthal, den 10. Oktober 1923. Der Stadtrat: Die Stadthauptkasse: Lit. B Dieser Schein ist aufgrund Stadtratsbeschlusses vom 8. August 1923 mit Genehmigung des Reichsfinanzministeriums ausgegeben. Umlauffähig im ganzen Regierungsbezirk Pfalz. Gültig bis zum 1. April 1924. |
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| Comments |
Frankenthal issued this 100-billion-Mark note in the autumn of 1923, when Weimar hyperinflation had so thoroughly destroyed the Reichsmark that municipal and private entities across Germany were printing their own emergency currency — Notgeld — simply to make payroll and run basic commerce. By October 1923, a single US dollar was worth roughly 4.2 trillion Marks. A note at this denomination wasn't extravagant; it was a bus fare.
The sole security measure was an official municipal stamp, which tells you everything about the speed and desperation of production. Rentenmark stabilization in November 1923 rendered the entire series worthless within weeks of printing.