Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
2 Mark
| Issuer | Hamburg, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Mark |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central oval vignette rendered in letterpress combines two Hamburg landmarks: the Rathaus (City Hall) with its distinctive clock tower seen across the Alster waterway with a sailing vessel in the foreground, and a colonnaded arcade passage receding into the distance. The denomination numeral '2' appears in large format within black-bordered panels at lower left and right, each surmounted by 'MARK'. Two diagonal ribbon banners carrying 'NOTGELD' flank the central vignette at upper left and right, with 'HAMBURG' arching across the top of the oval. Below the vignette, a disclaimer text states the note was issued solely for collectors, with the date '1. Juli 1921' and a serial number at foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Hamburger Bürger Militair (Artillerie) Hamburger Bürg. Militair (Artillerie) NOTGELD HAMBURG 2 M 2 M |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Hamburg's civic notgeld issues of 1921 occupy an awkward middle ground: the city was wealthy enough to manage its own emergency currency with some dignity, yet the hyperinflationary pressure building nationally was already making low-denomination paper irrelevant within months of issue. The 2 Mark face value, respectable in 1919, had lost most of its practical utility by the time this note was printed.
Hamburg printed locally rather than contracting out, as several other German cities did with specialist firms. Worth noting for collectors tracking the notgeld series: the city issued multiple design variants across 1921, and distinguishing them requires close attention to the printer's imprint details rather than the face design alone.