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2 000 000 Mark Reichsbahndirektion
| Issuer | Deutsche Reichsbahn, Reichsbahndirektion Karlsruhe |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Deutsche Reichsbahn Reichsbahndirektion Karlsruhe Gutschein Zwei Millionen Mark Die Scheine werden von sämtlichen Reichsbahnkassen des Direktionsbezirkes in Zahlung genommen und nach Bekanntgabe durch die Karlsruher-Zeitung und durch Anschlag auf den Bahnhöfen zum vollen Nennwert eingelöst. Karlsruhe, den 10. August 1923 Reichsbahndirektion |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in ochre on white paper, the reverse carries a bold symmetrical vignette of stylized spread wings flanking a central vertical staff, evoking a heraldic or railway emblem in an Art Nouveau manner. A curved ribbon banner at the top bears the inscription 'REICHSBAHNDIREKTION KARLSRUHE', while the large numeral '2000000' occupies the center of the composition. Flanking scroll banners to the left and right read 'GUT FÜR' and 'MARK', with the surrounding border filled with dense foliate and guilloche ornament. |
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| Comments |
Railway emergency money — Notgeld issued directly by the Reichsbahndirektion Karlsruhe rather than by a bank or municipal authority — proliferated rapidly in 1923 as hyperinflation made centrally-issued denominations obsolete within days of printing. The Reichsbahn operated its own payroll system and had both the bureaucratic apparatus and the political weight to issue scrip that workers and local merchants would actually accept.
At 2,000,000 Mark, this note sits in the middle of the inflation curve — high enough to seem absurd by prewar standards, already inadequate by late 1923, when the Reichsbank was printing denominations in the tens of billions.