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2 000 000 000 Mark Badische Bank, overprint on 20 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Badische Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | P#S913 |
| Obverse description | The obverse of this emergency currency note is the underlying 20 Millionen Mark issue of Die Badische Bank, dated 25. Sept. 1923 and place-named Mannheim, printed in black Fraktur letterpress on a teal guilloche underprint. A serif numeral vignette reading '20' appears at upper left within an ornate cartouche, flanked by the issuer's name repeated in the border guilloche. Two manuscript signatures appear beneath the legend 'Der Vorstand', accompanied by a counterfeiting warning in small Fraktur text at the foot. A bold diagonal red letterpress overprint in Gothic script reading 'Zwei Milliarden Mark' revalues the note, with a matching upper-left boxed overprint also in red; the serial number and series letter 'Lit. K' are printed in red at left. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse consists entirely of the original 20 Millionen Mark underprint design in teal, dominated by a large central guilloche rosette of interlocking geometric lacework enclosing the denomination numeral '20' in a bold Gothic script, flanked by the legend 'Millionen' in matching Fraktur. The issuer's name 'Badische Bank' repeats continuously in the outer border frame on all four sides. A diagonal red letterpress overprint in Gothic script reading 'Zwei Milliarden Mark' traverses the full width of the note from lower left to upper right. |
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| Comments |
Badische Bank's 2-billion Mark note is not a distinct printing — it is a provisional overprint applied to existing 20-million Mark stock, the denominator having been rendered obsolete within weeks by hyperinflation accelerating faster than new plates could be prepared. This kind of surcharging was common across German regional issuers in late 1923, as Reichsbank policy simultaneously tried to stabilize the currency while regional banks scrambled to keep denominations usable at street level.
The overprint multiplies the face value by a factor of 100. By the time notes like this circulated, the daily inflation rate could render that multiplication meaningless before the note changed hands twice.