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2 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Magistrat der Reichshauptstadt Berlin |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Reference(s) | Keller 339f |
| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a large Fraktur inscription 'Zwei Millionen Mark' set above an elaborate light-blue guilloche underprint with a central crowned heraldic lion shield vignette. The date 'Berlin, den 25. August 1923' appears at lower left, with the issuer inscription 'Magistrat der Reichshauptstadt' at lower right, below which two manuscript signatures appear. The document type 'Stadtkassenschein' is printed in script at upper centre, with a red serial number at upper right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Stadtkassenschein Zwei Millionen Mark wer diesen Schein nachmacht oder verfälscht, oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte Scheine in den Verkehr bringt, wird strafrechtlich verfolgt. Berlin, den 25. August 1923 Magistrat der Reichshauptstadt |
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| Comments |
Berlin issued its own emergency currency during the hyperinflation of 1923 — one of hundreds of German municipalities forced to produce notgeld simply to keep commerce moving when Reichsbank notes couldn't be printed fast enough to match the collapsing mark. The Magistrat der Reichshauptstadt Berlin had the institutional weight to produce relatively substantial runs, and this two-million mark denomination reflects the acceleration phase of the inflation: by mid-1923, what had been an extraordinary figure became a routine transaction amount within weeks.
The watermarked paper distinguishes Berlin's municipal issues from much of the rougher provincial notgeld printed on whatever stock was available. Keller 339f places this within a documented sequence of Berlin overprints and new printings issued in rapid succession as denominations were rendered obsolete almost immediately after printing.