Catalog
1000 Mark Reichsbanknote, red seal
| Issuer | Reichsbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1884-1910 |
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| Currency | Mark (1873-1923) |
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| Obverse description | Brown note printed on a fine guilloche underprint, with elaborate floral border panels in intaglio running along all four edges. The title "Reichsbanknote" appears in Gothic blackletter script across the top, below which the denomination "Ein Tausend Mark" is rendered in large ornate calligraphic lettering. A central rectangular vignette frames the numeral "1000" interlaced with floral motifs, flanked on either side by the red serial number and two circular red wax-style seals of the Reichsbankdirektorium bearing the Imperial Eagle; the date "Berlin, den 1. Juli 1898" and the issuing authority "Reichsbankdirektorium" appear below the vignette, accompanied by facsimile signatures, with the counterfeiting warning text printed twice in small type to the left and right of the central numeral. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 1000 - 1000 |
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| Comments |
The Reichsbank's 1000 Mark denomination was genuinely large money — roughly equivalent to several months' wages for an industrial worker in Wilhelmine Germany. Notes of this series circulated across a remarkably long window, surviving two chancellors, one emperor's death, and the early rumblings of the pre-war financial system. The red seal distinguishes this from earlier issues in the series and helps narrow the date range within the 1884–1910 span.
Reichsdruckerei handled all Reichsbank production in-house from its Berlin facility, a deliberate centralization policy dating to the bank's founding in 1876. High-denomination notes of this period were frequently cancelled by punch-hole rather than returned for destruction, so holed survivors are common.