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20 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtkreis Jena (City of Jena, Thuringia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Printer | Ant. Kämpfe, Jena, Germany |
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| Obverse description | Typographically printed Notgeld on white paper with a central rectangular guilloche underprint in pink and green tones, framing the denomination 'Zwanzig Milliarden Mk.' in large blackletter script. A green ornamental border frames the note, with a vertical olive-green overprint reading 'STADT JENA' and the numeral '20 / Milliarden' along the right margin. Multiple lines of text cite the issuing authority 'Universitätsstadt Jena,' the date of issue, and a statutory anti-counterfeiting warning, with manuscript signatures of municipal officials appearing beneath the issuer name. |
|---|---|
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| Protection description | Circular validation stamp in olive-gold ink on reverse, bearing the municipal eagle coat of arms with the inscription 'JENA' and year '1912'. |
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| Comments |
Jena's municipal administration issued this 20-billion-Mark note during the hyperinflationary peak of autumn 1923, when the Reichsbank simply could not supply denominations fast enough to meet payroll and retail demand. Local authorities across Germany were legally permitted — and in practice compelled — to print their own emergency currency, known as Notgeld, to keep commerce functioning.
Anton Kämpfe was a local Jena printing firm, not a specialist security printer. The official stamp served as the primary authentication device precisely because the press lacked the intaglio capability of purpose-built banknote printers.