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20 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Magistrat der Reichshauptstadt Berlin |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Size | 124 × 70 mm |
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| Obverse description | Single-sided typographic Stadtkassenschein on pale thin paper, centred on a green guilloche underprint arranged in a foliate lozenge pattern, within which a small vignette of the Berlin civic arms — a crowned bear passant — is positioned at the top centre. The blackletter denomination legend 'Zwanzig Milliarden Mark' occupies the middle of the note, with the issue date 'Berlin, den 24. Oktober 1923' at lower left and the issuing authority 'Magistrat der Reichshauptstadt' at lower right, the latter accompanied by two manuscript signatures. A serial letter prefix appears at upper left and a green asterisk-prefixed serial number at upper right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Stadtkassenschein Zwanzig Milliarden Mark Wer diesen Schein nachmacht oder verfälscht, oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte Scheine in den Verkehr bringt, wird strafrechtlich verfolgt. Berlin, den 24. Oktober 1923 Magistrat der Reichshauptstadt |
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| Comments |
Berlin's municipal government began issuing its own emergency currency — Notgeld — as the Reichsbank's printing capacity utterly failed to keep pace with hyperinflation in 1923. By the time this twenty-billion-mark denomination was produced, the city was effectively functioning as its own monetary authority out of operational necessity. The Magistrat notes circulated alongside, and often more reliably than, Reichsbank issues, simply because they were locally produced and distributed without the bottlenecks plaguing the central system.
Twenty billion marks in late 1923 bought roughly a loaf of bread. The denomination was obsolete within weeks of issue.