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20 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtkasse Darmstadt |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Size | 115 × 74 mm |
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| Obverse description | Typeset Notgeld voucher printed in dark red on cream paper, entirely without pictorial vignette. The upper left carries a serial number with a decorative asterisk ornament, while the upper right bears the bold numeral '20' above the word 'Milliarden.' Centered text in Fraktur script sets out the issuing authority, the promise to pay twenty billion Mark against surrender of the note, a clause that the date of withdrawal will be announced in local newspapers, and the issue date of 25 October 1923; the lower left bears the crowned heraldic lion shield of Darmstadt, and the note is concluded by the title 'Der Oberbürgermeister' above a manuscript signature. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | No 00431 ❊ 20 Milliarden. Gutschein. Die Stadtkasse Darmstadt zahlt gegen Rückgabe dieses Scheines den Betrag von ❊ Zwanzig Milliarden Mark. ❊ Der Zeitpunkt der Einziehung wird in den hiesigen Tageszeitungen bekannt gegeben. Darmstadt, den 25. Oktober 1923. Der Oberbürgermeister |
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| Comments |
Darmstadt's municipal treasury issued this note at the absolute peak of German hyperinflation — the autumn of 1923, when the Reichsmark was collapsing so rapidly that denominations in the billions and trillions became routine municipal paperwork. Stadtkassen across Germany were legally empowered to issue Notgeld at this stage, filling the void left by a central banking system that simply could not print fast enough to keep pace with daily price movements.
Dr. Glässing signed as Oberbürgermeister, lending the note the only institutional authority available at the time. Within weeks of notes like this entering circulation, the Rentenmark reform of November 1923 rendered them worthless by official decree.