100 000 Mark

Neuss issued this 100,000 Mark note during the hyperinflationary spiral of 1923, when municipal and corporate authorities across Germany were authorised to produce Notgeld simply to keep local economies functional — the Reichsbank could not print fast enough. L. Schwann in Düsseldorf was a commercial printer with an established relationship with Rhine-area municipalities, which is why so many Notgeld issues from this region share the same typefaces and layout conventions.

By the time denominations reached six figures, individual notes had a useful life measured in days before inflation made them obsolete.