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100 Milliarden - Heilbronn
| Issuer | Heilbronn (notgeld), City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The central field depicts two elderly figures — an old man leaning on a walking stick and an old woman — rendered in low relief, symbolizing impoverished citizens reduced to begging during the hyperinflationary crisis. Surrounding the figures, a circular legend in Latin-script capital letters with word-separating dashes reads 'ALMOSEN-SCHMERZT-IN-ALTER-HAND-DIE-GOLD-EINST-GAB-DEM-VATERLAND', translating as 'Alms pain in aged hands that once gave gold to the Fatherland.' The design is enclosed within a continuous pearl (beaded) border along the inner rim, consistent with the obverse treatment. |
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| Additional information |
Heilbronn issued this 100-Milliarden-Mark piece at the absolute peak of Weimar hyperinflation — by November 1923, a single US dollar was worth roughly 4.2 trillion Marks. Municipal notgeld in metal was actively preferred over paper currency at this stage, not for intrinsic value, but because it held its shape in a pocket without becoming worthless before the bearer reached a shop.
The nickel silver composition was a practical choice under scarcity; Germany's silver and copper supplies were heavily constrained by postwar reparations obligations under Versailles.