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2 000 000 Mark Handelskammer
| Issuer | Handelskammer Aachen (Chamber of Commerce Aachen) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Aug. Heinrigs, Aachen, Germany |
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| Obverse description | Green guilloche underprint of interlocking circular patterns covers the entire face, framed by an ornate green floral and scroll border. The issuer title 'Handelskammer Aachen.' appears at top in large Gothic lettering, with the serial number in red at upper left and the denomination value 'Mk. 2,000,000' at upper right. The central denomination legend 'Zwei Millionen Mark' is printed in large bold Gothic script over the underprint, below which a text clause in small type sets out redemption conditions, followed by the issue date 'Aachen, 10. August 1923.' at lower left, the circular Handelskammer zu Aachen dry stamp at center, and manuscript signatures at lower right above the printer imprint 'AUG. HEINRIGS, AACHEN.' |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted and shows the note as a plain paper surface, with the obverse design visible in mirror image through the paper stock due to ink strike-through, confirming the lightweight single-sided letterpress printing technique used for this emergency currency issue. |
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| Comments |
Aachen's Chamber of Commerce resorted to emergency currency in 1923 because the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to keep pace with hyperinflation. By mid-1923, municipal bodies, commercial chambers, and private firms across Germany were issuing their own Notgeld to cover payroll — wages were being adjusted daily, sometimes twice daily, and the 2,000,000 Mark denomination reflects just how far purchasing power had collapsed by that point in the year.
Aug. Heinrigs was a local Aachen printer pressed into currency production alongside dozens of similar regional firms during this period. Quality control across such emergency runs was inconsistent, and minor typographic variations between pieces in the same series are common.