Catalog
500 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Danzig (Municipality of Danzig) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The face is divided into three vertical panels within an ornate frame. The left panel contains an oval vignette with the crowned coat of arms of the City of Danzig, supported by lions. The central panel carries the denomination, issuer name, date, and signatures over a green guilloche underprint. The right panel bears a vignette of a Hanseatic galleon under sail, oriented to the right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Notgeldſchein der Stadtgemeinde Danzig über Fünfhundert Mark Deutſsche Reichswährung Danzig, den 31. Oktober 1922 Der Senat, Verwaltung der Stadtgemeinde Danzig |
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| Comments |
Danzig occupied a peculiar administrative position after Versailles — a Free City under League of Nations protection, neither German nor Polish, with its own currency regime. The Stadtgemeinde issued this 500 Mark note in 1922, at the peak of German hyperinflation, and the city's semi-sovereign status meant it operated parallel monetary arrangements to the collapsing Reichsmark economy on its doorstep.
The printed date of 30 April 1945 almost certainly refers to a cataloguing or inventory stamp, not the original issue — that date is the day Hitler died in Berlin and Soviet forces were closing on the city itself.