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2 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Königswinter (City of Königswinter) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gutschein der Stadt Königswinter über 2 Millionen Mark Gedeckt durch Hinterlegung von Reichsbankscheks und Reichsbanknoten. Dieser Gutschein wird von der Stadtkasse, der Sparkasse der Stadt Königswinter und der Königswinterer Bank in Königswinter in Zahlung genommen. Er verliert seine Gültigkeit durch Aufruf mit 14tägiger Frist im `Echo Des Siebengebirges` jedoch nicht von dem 1. November 1923. Die Stadtgemeinde Königswinter haftet für seine Einlösung. Königswinter, 27. August 1923 (Translation: Voucher from the City of Königswinter for 2 Million Mark Covered by the deposit of Reichsbank cheques and Reichsbank bills. This voucher is accepted in payment by the city treasury, the Königswinter savings bank and the Königswinterer Bank in Königswinter. It loses its validity by being advertised in the "Echo Des Siebengebirges" with 14 days' notice, but not from November 1, 1923. The municipality of Königswinter is liable for its redemption. Königswinter, August 27, 1923) |
| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a large central vignette rendered in olive-green tones, illustrating a romanticised woodland scene with a seated monk in the foreground and the ruins of Heisterbach Abbey visible through the trees in the background, a reference to the well-known local legend. The vignette is enclosed within a plain ruled frame, itself set within an outer decorative border of interlaced foliate ornament matching the obverse. The caption "Der Mönch zu Heisterbach" is printed in small letterpress beneath the vignette. |
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| Comments |
Königswinter was a small Rhine town with no professional printing infrastructure, which is exactly the problem with notes like this one. Issued at the height of the 1923 hyperinflation, when municipal and district authorities across Germany were authorized to produce emergency Notgeld simply to keep commerce moving, these local issues were often printed on whatever press and paper stock was available — quality control was an afterthought.
Two million marks sounds extraordinary; by August 1923 it bought roughly a loaf of bread.