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100 000 Mark overstamp on 20 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Zweibrücken (City of Zweibrücken, Bavaria) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central oval guilloche frame in dark blue with scrollwork surrounds a brown-toned vignette of a Zweibrücken townscape, likely the market square. Three octagonal '20 MARK' medallions are positioned at top, left, and right within the oval border, each with a red striped underprint. Red letterpress legends '100 000 Mark' appear at lower left and lower right, with a red serial number at upper right. |
| Reverse lettering | 20 MARK 100 000 Mark No 47345 |
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| Comments |
Zweibrücken's 100,000 Mark overstamp on an existing 20 Mark note is a direct artifact of the hyperinflationary spiral of mid-1923, when municipal authorities across Germany were authorized — or simply compelled by circumstance — to issue their own emergency money, known as Notgeld. Rather than commission entirely new printing, the city applied an overprint multiplying the face value 5,000-fold, a ratio that itself became obsolete within weeks as the Reichsmark's purchasing power continued to collapse.
The velocity of devaluation during this period was such that by November 1923 a single US dollar exchanged for roughly 4.2 trillion Marks.