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100 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Elberfeld (City of Elberfeld) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 154 x 92 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Stadt Elberfeld 100 Millionen Mark Notgeld Die städtischen Kassen der Stadt Elberfeld zahlen gegen diesen Notgeldschein Hundert Millionen Mark Der Zeitpunkt der Einlösung wird öffentlich bekannt gemacht Elberfeld, den 15. September 1923 Der Oberbürgermeister Mark 100.000.000 Mark STADT ELBERFELD 100.000.000 Sam. Lucas Elberfeld. |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in the same deep red on cream paper and is entirely typographic and ornamental in character. A large central guilloche cartouche of elaborate lathe-work ovals and interlocking scrollwork frames the inscription 'HUNDERT MILLIONEN' in bold Roman capitals within a horizontal band. Small vignettes of the Elberfeld heraldic lion with anchor appear in the upper-left and lower-right corners, while the denomination '100 Millionen Mark' and issuer name 'Stadt Elberfeld' are repeated in each of the four corner areas. The whole composition is enclosed within a repeating floral-motif border identical to that of the obverse. |
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| Comments |
Elberfeld was a textile and industrial hub in the Wupper valley, administratively merged into the new city of Wuppertal in 1929 — so this note was issued by a municipal authority that no longer existed within a decade of printing it. Like hundreds of German cities and towns in 1923, Elberfeld issued its own Notgeld because the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to keep pace with hyperinflation. By August of that year, 100 million Mark was roughly the cost of a loaf of bread, and that figure was itself outdated within days.
Samuel Lucas was a long-established Elberfeld printer, which made local production the practical choice — shipping currency from distant printers introduced delays that hyperinflation rendered catastrophic.