100 000 Mark

Höhscheid was an independent municipality in the Bergisches Land, administratively separate from Solingen until their forced consolidation in 1929. This note was issued during the hyperinflation peak of 1923, when German municipal governments — Städte and Gemeinden alike — printed emergency currency (Notgeld) by the millions simply to meet weekly payroll. The Reichsbank could not supply enough physical notes fast enough, so local authorities contracted whatever printers were available locally.

Walther Stöpfgeshoff operated out of Solingen, the cutlery and blade manufacturing center just kilometers from Höhscheid, which explains the printer choice. By the time 100,000 Mark notes were circulating, the denomination was already nearly worthless.