100 000 000 Mark

One of dozens of Notgeld issues flooding out of the Ruhr in mid-1923, this 100-million Mark note was produced as French and Belgian occupation forces controlled the region's rail and coal infrastructure. The Reichsbank could not physically distribute currency fast enough to keep pace with hyperinflation, leaving municipal and district authorities to fill the gap with locally printed emergency issues. Gelsenkirchen, as a major coal-producing center, was particularly exposed — wages for mine workers had to be paid on time, in whatever denominations could be printed fast enough to retain any purchasing power at all.

By the time notes of this denomination were being cut and signed, the figure had already become nearly meaningless within days of issue.